As anyone who follows this site knows, I've both been friends with and a huge supporter of Amanda Hocking. For anyone who doesn't know, Amanda was a self-published author just like myself, and through drive, risk, and oodles of talent, she catapulted her books into the bestseller lists. This led to a lucrative deal with St. Martin's press, with whom she will be publishing a brand-spanking-new series, as well as re-releasing her most popular titles to date, the Trylle Trilogy.
Switched, the first book of this latter trilogy, was released this week. It showed up in bookstores everywhere, and it was with immense amount of glee that I shuffled on down to our local Barnes and Noble to pick up my copy and support her in whatever small way I can. As proof, I offer you these two pics:
And then add to this the fact that I open up the first couple pages and read the acknowledgments, I get a nice little surprise. Check out the third paragraph below:
That's right. Amanda, a fellow part of our little writer's group, went out of her way to thank us and promote us.
Let's just say, I'm flabbergasted, respectful, honored, excited, and more than a little bit humbled by this. This is not something Amanda had to do. She did not have to mention anyone in her notes, as her success is her own, and she should be proud of it. And yet she did, which only goes to demonstrate the quality of character this fine young woman possesses.
To the mind of your humble author here, there is no one who deserves more respect than Amanda Hocking. She is a bastion of kindness, of the theory of never forgetting your roots, and it is amazing that with all the kudos that have come her way, she hasn't changed.
In other words, Amanda is awesome. So buy her books. Make her even more of a success than she already is, because a world where people like Amanda find their way into the public conscience is a world that is a much better place.
Peace, gentle readers.
Rob D
I'm a little late to the game here - with the lack of power last week and all the overtime because of the hurricane, my internet usage was limited, at best - but I'm here to announce that the fine ladies of Kismet Book Touring kicked off the blog tour for Silas last week! Here is the list of hosts and links to the content they've provided so far: Tour Dates: Monday, August 29th - April, My Shelf ConfessionsTuesday, August 30th - Johnny, Pages of Forbidden LoveWednesday, August 31st - Greta, Paranormal WastelandsThursday, September 1st - Lisa, A Casual Reader's BlogFriday, September 2nd - Karen, The Slowest Bookworm~~~~~~ Monday, September 5th - Melissa, Books and ThingsTuesday, September 6th - Heather and Pushy, Bewitched Bookworms Wednesday, September 7th - Cindy, Oodles of Books Thursday, September 8th - Theresa, Just One More Paragraph Friday, September 9th - Gef, Wagging The Fox ~~~~~~~ Monday, September 12th - Mandy, The Well-Read Wife Tuesday, September 13th - aobibliophileô Wednesday, September 14th - Aparajita, Le' Grande Codex Thursday, September 15th - Farrah, The Book Faery Reviews Friday, September 16th - Nevey, Le Vanity Victorienne ------------------------- So now that you have the list, whatever are you supposed to do with it? Well, as a part of this tour, along with the interviews and special stuff that abounds, we're giving away a Kindle 3 along with a brand-spanking-new Silas skin! All you have to do is go the the blogs, read through the posts, and enter into the contest forms. Each form has a rather simple question having to do with building the Silas playlist, and the correct answer will award you 3 points toward the grand prize! In other words, there are 15 chances to gain a total of 45 "entries". Can you get better than that? So head over to the blogs, folks, and enter to win! Oh, and help support up-and-coming authors!
Yes, folks, the new book is up and running - on Amazon and Amazon UK in ebook format, that is. The paperback is still a few days away, but it'll get here, I promise.
So, here's the cover and description:
"Ken Lowery is a man at odds with his life. He hates his job, is disappointed in his marriage, and feels resigned to leading a mundane existence. That all changes when his wife brings home a rambunctious Black Labrador puppy named Silas, who forges a remarkable connection with Ken and begins to heal his inner turmoil. When some neighborhood children start to go missing, he takes it upon himself to protect those around him and is thrust into a surreal world where monsters roam. Not everything is what it seems to be, he soon discovers, including his new best friend." I really need to thank Dans Arenson and Pyle for their work beta-reading this manuscript. And of course I need to thank Jesse for the fantastic cover, Mel Rico for the lettering, and my wife for putting up with me. Last but not least, thank you Leo, my one-eyed yellow Lab, who was my true inspiration for writing this story. You gentle readers can purchase the ebook at, as I mentioned earlier, Amazon and Amazon UKPeace, folks, and we'll talk to you soon....RJD
I just want to take a moment and show some appreciation for all the awesome people in my life...
To Jess Torrant, Artwiffy, for being smart, supportive, sexy, and downright fantastic...
To my parents, who've dealt with my quirks all my life and still love me...
To Jesse, who's been more than a little bit of an inspiration to me and is never afraid to tell it straight...
To Mercedes Yardley, whose own talent and overall awesomeness remains a driving force behind my own work...
To Jason Letts, who's always there with a joke to ease the tension...
To Dave Dalglish, who gives me more entertainment than I could ever wish for...
To Dan Arenson, whose ability to craft an intriguing story is only surpassed by his ability to rant...
To Mike Crane, who's always on my side no matter what...
To Sean Sweeny, who's got this way about him that's just lovable...
To Amanda Hocking, for giving everyone the example of success not going to one's head...
To David McAfee, for being an inspirational figure as one who's doing it...
To Caton Easton, who's always been there as my biggest supporter even though he's across the pond...
To Steven Pirie, for writing some of the best books I've ever read....
To John Skipp, whose words of support helped give me the confidence to make tough decisions and stick to them...
To Walter Mathis, who's been as constant as anything for me over the last 10 years...
To Pat Bukowski, whose ability to sing sometimes goes to his head...
To EJ Stevens, who's the best friend a writer of the paranormal could have...
To Heather Bannon, OnePushyFox from the Bewitched Bookworms, for just being fucking awesome...
To Sharon Rosen of Pixel of Ink, who's doing her best to further the careers of so many struggling writers...
And finally, to anyone who's ever bought and read our books, whether you loved or hated them. It's you we do this for, and I hope we've entertained.
Okay, that's enough sap for today...
RJD
So who's in the mood for some music? It's now April second, and I'm sure there are a few intrigued souls out there who are now wondering, "Where the hell is the singing? The bongos? The unabashed, falling-on-your-knees worship of the winner?Honestly, it's going to take a little while for this to happen...or for a winner to be chosen.The last 40 days have been quite interesting - which, if you ascribe the the old Chinese parable, isn't necessarily a good thing. Mercedes and I have had massive sickness and personal trauma, suffered from exhaustion and walleye from staring at a glowing monitor for much too long. Writing 2500 words a day for 40 days definitely seems doable when you start out, but when life intercedes, things can get dicey. And not all of us are as prolific as Amanda Hocking. Woe is us. But before anyone goes and thinks I'm starting a pity party, I'm not. All I'm trying to say is that because of these outside (and inside) stresses, the fine Mercedes and I have decided to push our Gauntlet deadline back to May 1st. But that, my friends, is final. There will be no more extensions after that. Now, there will be one (self-imposed) revision to the rules, however. Due to the extension, the fact that I've made some FANTASTIC progress, and the reality that I don't have to deal with the added stress of a child growing inside me and the complications that can arise from that, I now have to not only complete the full manuscript, but also a pair of edits. In other words, if Silas isn't in the hands of my betas come May 1st, I lose. As for Mercedes...I'm not holding her to anything but getting her novel and essays finished. If she wants to add more stress to the mix, it's all up to her. Personally, I think she has enough to deal with. But in all honesty, she probably thinks the same thing about me. Check up on her blog, A Broken Laptop, if you want to hear what she has to say about it. So there you go, folks. I know it's disappointing that you have to wait another 30 days for the satisfaction of observing out utter embarrassment, but hey, we gots to do what we gots to do.
EJ Stevens, architect of the From The Shadows blog dedicated to all things paranormal, issued a fantastically glowing review of THE FALL today. It's a truly glowing review, and we're more than proud that she had as many nice things to say about it as she did. FROM THE SHADOWS REVIEWS THE FALL
Well, for anyone who's been waiting for book two of The Rift to be released, your wait is over! In a way, anyhow. As of right now, Dead of Winter is live on Amazon for the Kindle. I know, I know, the print book is supposed to be available, too, but we've run into a couple snags along the way. It won't be too long, however. We're looking right now at the second week of January for the release.That being said, anyone who wants to pick up Dead of Winter can simply click here to find the Amazon product page. As I've said many times, this is my favorite book in the series, and I'm quite happy with the way it turned out. I hope you will be, as well.I'll now leave you with an image of the cover - which will change slightly, because the font is a little, well, weak.It's a fantastic piece of art, folks. And the interior illustrations are going to be just as good.
Peace.
- RJD
Buy Dead of Winter for the Kindle:
Yours truly has been granted a guest blog on Amanda Hocking's site, "My Blood Approves". Along with the article I wrote, there is also a giveaway, as well. All you must do to win a copy of "The Fall" is write a comment after the post that includes your email address. Just click on the link below. Good luck, everyone! RJDFeeding the Beast - Why we need monsters in our lives
Just to let anyone who's interested know, The Fall is now on sale at Amazon.com for 14.39. I'm not sure how long this sale will last, so anyone who is interested in a good book at a discounted price, feel free to click on the link below: The Fall: The Rift Book I Trade Paperback
Yes. Now, I will ramble. I'm putting off writing a review right now. It's something I know I have to do, but sometimes it can be such a stressful process - ESPECIALLY if it's a review for a book I loved. I want to do the thing justice, and sometimes I wonder if I'll be able to pull it off. Don't know why I do this to myself, though. I always end up doing it, and doing it well, at that. Perhaps it's just my inherent fear of "not being good enough". Oh well. On that note, our book sales have been stuck at one a day for this month. I know this is good for a relatively unknown writer, but still, I'd like it to be more. Let's face it, this is a good book - much better than a lot of things out there. I just know that if folks were to find it, they'd think the same. But the problem is getting them to discover the thing, isn't it? I think I diluted myself into thinking releasing on Kindle would be the magic pill for some exposure...and while it has helped some, and I can't deny that fact, I still want MORE MORE MORE. Jeez, can I whine, or what? *sigh* I just need to bust out of this rut I'm finding myself in and do it, already. Get to editing, get to writing that review. The only thing that's going to remedy our relative lack of sales is more effort on our part. I'm not gonna give up, that's for fucking sure. So keep on plugging, brother, I tells meself. You can do it. And maybe, just maybe, some folks will stumble upon this post and decide that buying a book about the end of the world is just the thing to pick up their day. In that case, here's the link below to find it on Amazon. The Fall: The Rift Book OnePeace, everyone. - RJD
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