The March round now begins: today it's The Gate: 13 Dark and Odd Tales that gets the no-cost treatment.  It will be free today, March 7th, until tomorrow, March 8th.  Head on over to the 'Zon and pick yourselves up a copy!

So here we go folks.  The paperback versions of The Gate 2: 13 Tales of Isolation and Despair is now live and ready to be purchased over at the 'Zon. Click here to head over there and pick one up!

Also, it's time to strap in and get the words flowing on the The Summer Son: The Rift Book IV.  I'll be starting tomorrow (March 4th), and the goal is to write 10,000 words a week over twelve weeks, which would put the second draft as being finished before the first week of June.  I'll be posting updates every Saturday night to let you all keep track of my progress.

So here's where we stand right now:

March 3: 9,828 words


I'll be seeing you next week at this time, if not sooner.

Peace, gentle readers.

RJD

Yes, here we are folks.  The new anthology is now here...at least the ebook is.  The proofs for the paperback should be coming today, so if it looks good, it should go live in the next few days.  For now, take a look at the fabulous new cover, description, and table of contents, which includes 12 fantastic authors.  To say we're excited about this product is a bit of an understatement!

…a young man tries to build a better life while trapped in a mall after a plague has killed off most of humanity…

…zombies overrun a world gone mad, leaving a boy with no choice but to rely on possibly mystical means of escape…

…Halloween night brings out a darkness so threatening that a young couple’s only hope of survival may be a procession of strange, ghostly children…

…when the world is given a brief glimpse of divinity, a formerly disabled man must come to grips with the fact that not everything is as good as it seems…

These tales and many more await in The Gate 2: 13 Tales of Isolation and Despair, the new collection edited by Robert J. Duperre. Thirteen talented authors have been assembled, bringing with them the best they have to offer in a wide range of horror, be it slice-of-life or paranormal in nature. Also included are two bonus stories by the editor.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction
Plastic by J.L. Bryan
The Indian Rope Trick by D.P. Prior
Night Night by Daniel Pyle
Dead Things by Michael Crane
Does Laura Like Elephants? by Steven Pirie
39 Days by Robert J. Duperre
The Candle Eaters by K. Allen Wood
Black Mary by Mercedes M. Yardley
Exhibit C by David McAfee
The Canoe by Joel Arnold
Destination by Benjamin X. Wretlind
The Ghastly Bath by Dawn McCullough-White
Worldwide Event by David Dalglish
2 Bonus stories by Robert J. Duperre
Traipsing Through the Dark: The Stories Behind the Stories

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE ON AMAZON.COM!

In this publishing game, it's not an understatement to say that perhaps book bloggers are the most important people in the life of an author.  Without them, there would be no word-of-mouth.  Without them, there would be no promotion.  Without them, there is very little chance of we little guys getting the word out to prospective readers.  So on this day, a day that Pushy (Heather Bannon) from the Bewitched Bookworms posts a review of the third book in our post-apocalyptic series, The Rift, that we offer everyone out there in webworld the opportunity to download (on the Kindle) each and every book in our library...for free.

That's right.  For this day only—Wednesday, February 1st--every book we've released is available in e-book format for free.  It is seriously the least we can do for all the kind words these fantastic individuals have given to us.  It is for them, these ladies and gents who've read and loved the words I've written (not to mention the paintings The Cranky Artist has created), that keep us going.

So right now, I'd like to give a shout-out to my favorite blogs, first of which are the reviewers.  Please, follow them, read them...trust them.  These are people who know what they like, who know BOOKS, and it through their guidance that many an unknown have been discovered.  I present to you my favorites, with those I love the most getting some special words of approval:

Bewitched Bookworms: Pushy, Danny, and Heather M. run perhaps the greatest blog out there.  Each of these ladies are completely passionate about their work, their choice of entertainment, the power of their words.  Their reviews are poignant and introspective, and they aren't shy when it comes to telling anyone what they like and don't like.  As an added bonus, they also run a blog touring service called Kismet Book Touring, a service I gladly used when we released Silas, with fantastic results.  I swear by these ladies, and you should too.

Paranormal Wastelands: This site is operated by Darkfallen (Kaycee) and Greta, perhaps two of the spunkiest ladies you'll ever run across.  Their enthusiasm for literature is readily apparent, and just like any review worth their salt, they're more than willing to tell you what they like and don't like about any given work.  I follow each of their reviews, no matter what author or genre it is they're diving into.  Yes, their interpretations of the work is that good.

The Bookish Brunette: Oh, Ashley.  Probably the most outspoken and opinionated blogger on this list.  Reading her reviews—whether I agree with them or not—is a highlight for me.  Spunky and excited for the next-best-thing, this is a woman who can't help but put her true self out there, no matter the cost.  Read a couple of her posts.  You'll see.

And these are a few others I frequent:

Supernatural Snark
Juniper Grove
My Shelf Confessions
The Slowest Bookworm
A Casual Reader's Blog
Pages of Forbidden Love
Red Adept Reviews
Books and ThingsOodles of Books
Wagging the Fox
Just One More Paragraph
aobibliosphere
The Well-Read Wife
Le' Grande Codex
The Book Faery Reviews
Flurries of Words

Also, along with book bloggers, we also have ebook "bargain" sites—blogs dedicated to helping readers discover cheaply-priced books in a timely and easy fashion.  In my opinion, these are the two best:

Pixel of Ink:  Sharon, the creator of Pixel of Ink, is perhaps the best friend an author can have.  She is always on top of the game in terms of cheap Kindle books and freebies offered.  Her door is always open to authors, helping them promote their work and offering a kind word for those who know her in person.   I'm completely dedicated to this site, it's professionally run, and it's helped me find more than a few books that I otherwise wouldn't have discovered.

Ereader News Today:  A great site.  Greg puts out a fantastic product, highlighting some of the best independently published books out there. 

For anyone who owns a Kindle and wants to find something new, these two are must-read sites.


And that's it.  So in dedication to these fantastically hard-working bloggers, whose efforts I feel aren't appreciated anywhere near enough, we are of course offering our entire library free for today.  Here are the links for any who are interested:

The Fall: The Rift Book I
Dead of Winter: The Rift Book II
Death Springs Eternal: The Rift Book III
Silas: A Supernatural Thriller
The Gate: 13 Dark and Odd Tales

So there it is, folks! Download the books, read them, and peace to you all!

-RJD

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

Well, in a way, anyhow.  The ebook - without illustrations - has gone live at Amazon, cover and all. It will stay the way it is until the grumpy artist finishes the interiors and the paperback is made available - sometime in the middle of next month.  Until then, enjoy book 3, and here's a link to the Amazon page and a sneaky peek at that cover.

DEATH SPRINGS ETERNAL AMAZON PAGE

COVER:

Pretty, ain't it?  I thought so.

Till next time,

RJD

In order to get things going for the holidays, I've decided to ramp up the game by offering a free promotion for both The Fall and Silas. 

The Fall ends at 3AM eastern time December 15th, while Silas will end its free run at the same time on the 16th.  So get over there and pick up a couple good books...for nothing but the effort it takes to press the purchase button.

THE FALL: THE RIFT BOOK I
Click here to purchase at Amazon for free!

SILAS
Click here to purchase at Amazon for free!

That's right, folks!  A new collection of horror shorts is almost upon us!  The Gate 2: 13 Tales of Isolation and Despair should be ready to publish come the middle of February.  All the stories are in, and all that's left is editing and the illustrations and cover from TRO's better half.  I'm really, really excited about this anthology.  All the stories are fantastic, and there are a few that rank right up there with the best fiction I've ever had the pleasure of reading.  There are a ton of great new writers featured, as well as a few carryovers from the first compilation.  Oh, and check this out:

 

That right there is Chorus, an illustration by the fabulous Jesse Young that both inspired one of the stories within and will appear on the back cover.  Just looking at it, I'm sure you can see the direction in tone this collection is going to take.

And now, here is the current table of contents, in the order I have them set to appear.  As always, with two months left before release, both titles and order may change:

INTRODUCTION
Plastic by J. L. Bryan
Chorus by Robert J. Duperre
The Indian Rope Trick by D.P. Prior
Destination by Benjamin X. Wretlind
39 Days by Robert J. Duperre
Worldwide Event by David Dalglish
The Canoe by Joel Arnold
Night Night by Daniel Pyle
The Candle Eaters by K. Allen Wood
Does Laura Like Elephants? by Steven Pirie
Black Mary by Mercedes M. Yardley
Dead Things by Michael Crane
The Ghastly Bath by Dawn McCullough-White
Traipsing Through the Dark: The Stories Behind the Stories
BONUS 14th STORY

So that's it!  Peace to all you gentle readers, and we'll see you soon.

RJD

And we have a winner!

There were over 450 entrants into the contest, so there was some tough competition.  So congratulations goes out to...

KAREN OLIVIA!

The lucky lady walks away with a new Kindle3, complete with a skin featuring the cover of Silas!

Thank you to all of the blogs who participated!  It was a fantastic experience for myself, and with the fantastic reception this book has received, things are only looking up from here!

A huge thanks goes out to Kismet Book Touring for organizing this whole shebang.  You do great work ladies!

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 Confessions
Tuesday, August 30th - Johnny, Pages of Forbidden Love
Wednesday, August 31st - Greta, Paranormal Wastelands
Thursday, September 1st - Lisa, A Casual Reader's Blog
Friday, September 2nd - Karen, The Slowest Bookworm
~~~~~~
Monday, September 5th - Melissa, Books and Things
Tuesday, 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!