A Bit of BSP

Friends often tell me that I am the world's worst when it comes to promoting my books, and I'll admit they are right. I never know exactly how to do it without coming across as the proverbial salesperson with an arm full of books knocking on your door. However, if I don't ever knock on any doors, how are people going to know my books are even available? I read an article at Galley Cat recently that said Amazon gets a new book every five minutes.

That's a lot of books, folks, and it is no wonder that it is getting harder and harder for indie authors to get their books noticed. So... here I am knocking on your door. I won't keep you but a moment, I promise.

Knock, knock.

Who's there?

Maryann.

Maryann who?

Maryann Miller, and I just want to let you know that Stalking Season, the second book in the critically-acclaimed Seasons Mystery Series that started with Open Season, is an ebook, available in a number of places. The hardback edition was published in December 14, 2012 for library sales, and in February of this year I had a new cover made and released it as an ebook for Kindle and Kindle apps. More recently, I used Draft2Digital to make the book available at Scribd * Kobo * Apple * Inktera * Nook

Here are snippets from the major reviews the book has received. It still makes me smile to read them.

 “. . . gripping second mystery featuring Dallas, Tex., police detectives Sarah Kingsly and Angel Johnson. . . . The relationship between the women is just as absorbing as the search for the killer. Few readers will anticipate the closing twist.” Publishers Weekly Starred Review

"So deftly plotted and paced that, although it’s certainly possible to grow impatient with the protagonists’ unwarranted impatience toward each other, they’re appealing enough to keep the pages turning." Kirkus

Okay, you can slam the door in my face now.

Friday's Odds and Ends - Pretty Presents and More

One of my publishers, Untreed Reads,  just let me know that all the books at the online bookstore, Kobo, will be 50% off through December 31st, so readers can load books into their new electronic reading devices at a huge savings. The code can be used over and over through the end of this month. How cool is that. I may have to go check out some books for myself. Some of my favorite authors have some books there, so this is a great time to pick up some new ones.

If you are interested, here is the code to use - 50DEC - and here is the link to the Kobo site. I am pleased to have several of my titles available at Kobo: One Small Victory and Play it Again, Sam,  and the short stories: Making it Home, SAHM, I Am, The Visitor, and The Last Dollar. With the discount the short stories are under a dollar, and the two novels are well below $5.

Christmas was bittersweet this year, considering the big empty spot in our family, but we did manage to do some of the normal Miller traditions: Christmas Eve lasagna and White Elephant gift exchange, then dinner on Christmas Day followed by a movie.

In addition to the fun gift exchange, we do exchange other gifts, and my main gift from my kids was this beautiful stained glass artwork. I actually got it back in October, as my youngest daughter, Dany, saw it at an art fair where I was offering my books. She went around visiting all the other artists there - yes, writers are artists - and she saw this piece. She contacted her siblings to see if they wanted to chip in, and the vote was unanimous. 

This was taken with the picture leaning against the window where it will eventually hang.

This picture was taken with the glass leaning against the drawers in my desk. I thought the changes to the colors was interesting.

I also got another lovely piece of glass art from my oldest grandchildren. Owls and horses adorn many of my walls and shelves. Not literally, of course, but you know what I mean. (smile) I've heard that owls are a sign of good luck in many Asian cultures. I think horses are just a source of joy. 

This is a serving tray that I may just leave on my table for a while so I can enjoy it.

Finally, let's end on a fun note with a joke from Pearls Before Swine: 

Pig is sitting behind a desk and he says, "Hey, Rat. What you doing here?"

Rat replies, "Goat said you got an office job. I told him I had to see it for myself."

Pig says, "It's true. I go to meetings, read reports, write memos."

Rat says, "What? You don't know how to do any of that stuff."

Pig says, "No but I can learn."

Rat says. "Learn? These corporate types will eat you alive. What are you going to do the first time some boss comes in here to chew your head off about some stupid memo?"

"I've got a Time-to-Duck hole."

Rat says, "You're gonna duck?"

The Guard Duck pops up out of a hole on the desk, aiming a missile and says, "We're gonna tell him to write his own blankety-blank memo."

Pig says, "Everyone needs a Time-to-Duck hole," and from inside the hole the Guard Duck says, "Can someone bring me a doughnut?"

Sale on E-Books

 All Untreed Reads And Distribution Titles On Sale 50% Off This Month At Kobo!

 

The folks at Untreed Reads just let me know that Kobo is running a special sale for the rest of this month. There is a coupon code that will give readers 50% off their purchase. Every title by Untreed Reads and all of its distribution clients can be purchased at 50% off with the code, and there is no limit.   Nearly one million titles are part of the sale, and the coupon can be reused!

  All books purchased through Kobo are EPUBs, meaning they can be read on every single device or computer in the world except for a Kindle or the Kindle app.

  Kobo has its own free app for all reading devices and computers. The person who notified me said he has it installed on a Mac, an iPad, a Galaxy S3 and a Barnes and Noble Nook.

  Readers from around the world can buy from Kobo, and the markets included in this sale are US, Canada and the UK.

  Kobo has a program that supports your local bookstores and enables your local brick-and-mortar to sell ebooks and stay open.

To take advantage of this promo, simply head over to Kobo. Add as many titles as you'd like to your cart and enter coupon code Sept50 during checkout. This includes all of my books that are distributed through Untreed Reads.

Book Review - Snakehead by Peter May

Thanks to Carl Brookins for another terrific review....

Snakehead
by Peter May
Poisoned Pen Press
Hardcover, 312 pages,
ISBN: 9781590586068

This is the ourth in the author's China Thriller series to be published by this press. Make no mistake this is one scary and thrilling book. So thrilling, in fact I had the sense toward the end of being carried just a bit over the top. The novel brings back two of May's most endearing characters, forensic pathologist Margaret Campbell, American, and Beijing detective, Li Yan. But they are no longer in China. Campbell is now the county medical examiner based in Houston, Texas, and Li Yang is learning about and dealing with America's multiple and complex law enforcement agencies as a member of the Chinese Embassy staff in Washington, D.C.

Until a major tragedy brings them together, Campbell is not even aware that they are again in the same country although still thousands of miles physically and culturally apart. The tragedy that brings these two together are the deaths of scores of illegal Chinese immigrants being smuggled to the United State via the same pipeline and organization which smuggles drugs from South America to the U.S. In this incident, the dead are found in a refrigerated truck abandoned in Texas. Those deaths appear to be accidental until it is discovered the bodies have all been injected with a dangerous virus that has no known antidote.

Now the race is on to determine what the virus is, who is behind the multi-million dollar smuggling operation, the Snakehead of the title, and Li Yan and Margaret must try to set aside their own emotional difficulties in order to help literally, save the nation from a devastating plague.

The pace is fast, the writing always to the point, the characters are genuine in their language and their emotions, and most worrisome of all, the science is real. This is a novel with the potential to scare the pants off you.  It's timely, international in scope, a whirlwind of a thriller.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Carl Brookins - www.carlbrookins.com www.agora2.blogspot.com
Case of the Greedy Lawyer, Devils Island, Bloody Halls, more at Kindle & Smashwords!

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NOTE: My publisher for Play it Again, Sam, Uncial Press,  is celebrating its fifth year in operation, and it all ends tomorrow. To join in the fun with a scavenger hunt and have a chance at winning a KOBO reader, visit the website.

Another contest is being held by Books We Love Publishing. Enter between now and December to win a Kindle.