I want to give back to all those who’ve supported me in the recent Reality Bites Book Awards and pushing me to the win for best “SciFi Author!” What better thing to do than offer something free?
From today Sept. 1st through Monday Sept. 4th, you can grab all three of my books for FREE on Amazon! Grab one or all, but for a short amount of time, they’re all free.
Please get your copies and share so others can enjoy the freebie goodness. Thanks!
It’s finally August 31st and I can back down from posting a bit. If you’ve been following along this month, you might’ve noticed I went on a post frenzy, sharing a new post every day.
I decided in late July to give it a try and I’m proud to say I’ve made it to the end. I think instead of my normal once a week posting schedule I adhered to prior to August, I might up that to three times a week: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
During this past month, I’ve had the most visits, views, likes, and comments since I’ve started this blog several years ago. I was blown away by the response I’ve had and hope to continue offering interesting posts going forward.
So in case you missed it, here’s a rundown of the last 30 days.
New Release: Twilight Madhouse Vol.1: My post about a new horror anthology featuring 10 stories, including my short piece “Achievement Unlocked.”
“Gate” Crashing: My rant on using the suffix -gate for scandals.
Writing Ideas: My tips and tricks when trying to get the creative juices flowing.
Reality Bites Book Awards: I was nominated in four different categories.
Rough Writing: I reminisce about a difficult lesson learned.
Morning Routine of a Non Best-Selling Author: It’s exactly as it sounds.
Reviews, Reviews, Reviews: I discuss the latest reviews for my book The Selection.
Review Circles for Authors: I’ve started a Facebook group for authors to give and receive reviews.
Tools of the Trade: A nice discussion about the hardware and software I use to write.
Forgetting to Remember: My terrible problem with remembering names.
Dirty Dish Philosophy: Lessons learned from washing dishes.
5 Posts for Indie Authors: 5 blog posts I thought were informative to the indie authors of the world.
Flash Fiction – “Zombie Says”: I offered a free story for you the reader!
Author Spotlight – Greg Alldredge: An interview with scifi author Greg Alldredge.
Review – “Fire Eyes Awakened”: My review of R.J. Batla’s new book.
“Self To Younger Self, Come in”: Words of wisdom I’d share with my younger self.
Review – “Twilight Madhouse Vol.1”: My review of the horror anthology with my story “Achievement Unlocked” in it.
10 Things Learned Since I Started Writing: As the title implies, 10 lessons learned since I started this journey.
Reality Bites Book Awards – Final Round: I made it to the final round in the category of “Sci-Fi Author.”
Giving Back: I strongly believe I need to give back to other writers in any way I can.
Eclipse Comic Con Recap: I attended an awesome event and met new friends.
Upcoming Events: A list of all the places you can find me in the next few months.
Just Finish Already!: Get that story out of your head and on the screen.
Indie Comic Creator – Todd Black: A super talented creator of indie comics I met at the Eclipse Comic Con.
Musical Inspiration: How music inspires my writing.
Sacrifice for Greatness: What are you willing to sacrifice in order to be great?
Choose Wisely: Important decisions can lead to lasting consequences.
Author Spotlight – Pamela Morris: My interview of Pamela Morris, an excellent horror author you should know.
“The Selection” – Chapter 1 Preview: I offer the entire first chapter of my novel The Selection.
Youthful Dreaming: When I was younger, I really, really wanted to be Spider Man.
I hope you’ve enjoyed my month of madness. When you have time, please check out the posts from this past month and please consider clicking “like,” commenting, or sharing whatever interests you.
Thanks for your support!
My book The Selection has received some amazing reviews and I’m so pleased readers are connecting with the story. If you’ve not had a chance to read what earned me a nomination (and win!) for best SciFi Author in the Reality Bites Book Awards, here’s the entire first chapter to test drive my fast paced, action-filled story. I hope you enjoy it!
Mina giggled. Eron ran across the playground. “Mina, I love you! Will you be my girl? You’re so beautiful–” He tripped on a rock and face planted on the red soil. When he stood, Mina had fallen over with laughter.
“Aw, come on Mina, that’s not funny!”
“Yeah it is! Look at you!” She pointed at his shirt, stained red.
“Yeah, whatever,” he said.
They were on morning recess, expending boundless energy while teachers relaxed. The children were more excited than usual at the long siren blast indicating the Selection was underway.
“Ten years from now when you turn eighteen, it’s gonna be your turn at the Selection,” Mina said. She held out her hands with fingers splayed. “Ten!” she said.
“Yeah? So what? It’s how we become men,” Eron replied. He puffed out his chest and Mina giggled again.
“Don’t kill anyone, though, ’cause that’s bad.”
Eron cocked his head. “Why would I do that?”
Mina’s grin faded. “‘Cause that’s what you gotta do. I don’t want you to, though.” She approached him, her red curls bouncing with each step. “I kinda like you, too, Eron,” she whispered in his ear as she kept walking. His face turned as red as the Anastasian sun. The bell rang and the children ran for the school doors.
At the afternoon recess, Mina gathered with a group of her friends, all girls. Eron considered joining the group, but so many girls together at once intimidated him. Instead, he sat by himself and watched the other students playing. There were more boys than girls in his school. After the Selection, however, he knew that would change. Afterwards there were always more adult females than males.
“Why aren’t you with Mina?” a voice behind Eron called. It was Bello. He liked the larger boy, even though he tended to be mean.
“Oh, hey Bello. I don’t know. She’s with her friends. I don’t wanna bother her.”
Bello sat next to him, his large frame casting a shadow over Eron. “So what? Are you scared? Don’t be a baby.”
“Shut up, Bello! Just drop it, ok?”
“I heard you tell her you loved her. Oooh, you love her, don’t ya, Eron?” Bello stood. “Hey Mina,” he called. Mina and her friends looked over. Eron shoved his face in his hands. “Mina, did you know Eron loves you? He loooooves you!”
Mina’s friends laughed.
“Be quiet, Bello! Don’t say anything!” Eron said.
“Eron loves Mina! Eron loves Mina!” Bello sang. Mina’s friends laughed, and others on the playground joined in.
“Come on now, stop laughing. Bello, please stop. You’re embarrassing him,” Mina said. Bello laughed harder.
“No, I’m not. Look,” he said, pointing at Eron. Eron shook, veins pulsing on his forehead.
“You’re not embarrassed, are you?” Bello asked. Eron looked up, his eyes red and glistening. He opened his mouth to reply, then stopped.
“Seriously, Mina, he loves you!” Bello said.
Eron faced Bello, the larger boy standing a head taller than him. “Shut. Up.”
“But it’s the truth.”
Eron clenched his fists.
“What, are you gonna hit me?”
“Eron, please. No violence. You don’t need to do anything. It’s ok,” Mina said, her calm voice soothing to Eron.
“Yeah, you don’t need to do anything,” Bello said, mocking her. Eron turned and walked calmly away.
“That’s it, Eron, walk away like a coward,” Bello said.
Eron ignored his taunts and left the playground, Mina trailing after him.
“Hey,” she said. He’d made it to the school doors and stopped.
“What?” he replied.
“Don’t worry about Bello. He’s just a bully. No one thinks bad about you. Promise.”
“Sure, no problem.”
“Eron, I do like you. Don’t let him get to you.”
The boy paused, then grasped the door handle and left her standing outside.
That was the last time he spoke with her during grade school. Other than an occasional smile and a hi, he couldn’t muster enough courage to talk to her.
Bello’s taunts continued and intensified. They were separated several times on the playground, Bello nearly beating up the smaller boy each time. Mina tried to intervene, but her actions seemed to make it worse. Whatever she said to Bello didn’t help Eron.
By the time they reached high school, Eron’s crush on Mina deepened.
“Why don’t you just try talking to her?” his close friend Connor asked. He’d known Connor since they were little, but they didn’t begin to hang out until eighth grade. As freshmen, they’d become best friends.
They sat in Eron’s room playing chess.
“I can’t, Connor. Not now.”
“Why not? She’s just a person like me. You talk to me. Why not her?”
Eron shrugged. “It’s different. She’s a girl and you’re not.” Connor sighed.
A loud siren blared.
The Selection had begun.
Eron jumped. “Timo!” he said. His older brother Timo was now eighteen, old enough for inclusion in the Selection. He’d been anxious about the event, and now the sirens called him to action.
Eron and Connor raced from the room, nearly slamming into Timo.
“Timo, it’s time,” Eron said. His brother looked at him with wide eyes, a blank expression on his face.
“Yeah, I guess it is. Goodbye, Eron. I’ll see you when you get there.”
Their mom hugged her older son. “Goodbye, son. Be safe. Do what you must. You can do this. Don’t forget your knife.” She kissed his cheek and he nodded.
Timo marched out the door and fell in line with the rest of the boys.
“Sorry, Connor, I gotta go,” Eron said. He sprinted after his brother.
“Timo! Wait! Wait up!”
His brother didn’t turn around. Eron followed as far as he could until the soldiers in gray uniforms forced him back, telling him to go home.
You can get The Selection on Amazon for only .99 through the end of August. Get your copy today!
The Reality Bites Book Awards has come to its final round and I’m still in it! I’m in the category for favorite “SciFi Author,” a category I was nominated in because of my book The Selection.
If you have a Facebook account, would you please consider adding your vote? My fans, friends, and family have been awesome in their support in getting me this far. One more week of voting, can you get me to the finish line?
It’s been overwhelming seeing all the help I’ve received. I’ve started nicknaming my amazing support team “The Nuge Brigade” because it sounds pretty cool and they’re encouragement has been awesome!
If you can spare a moment, please add your vote through the link below. I humbly thank you for your help.
Reality Bites Book Awards: Final Round – SciFi Author (If for some reason the link only takes you to the Event page, scroll down until you see the “SciFi Author category”)
Thank you again for the massive amount of support. It’s because of you I am where I am.
Hey everyone, this is gonna be a shameless self-promo style of a post.
I was recently nominated in four different categories for the Reality Bites Book Awards! I’m nominated in “Best Horror Book” for my collection of dark tales Moments of Darkness as well as “Best Horror Author.” I’m also nominated for “Best SciFi Book” for my novel The Selection for which I’m also nominated for “Best SciFi Author.”
I’m excited to see that others have found my work worthy of nomination. I’m up against some serious competition too!
If you’ve got a moment and a Facebook account (all the polls are on Facebook unfortunately) could you please consider voting for me? You can vote for more than one author per category so if you feel others deserve a vote as well, please vote for them.
I have the links below. Please consider supporting me and voting for me. If you can share this post with others for their support I’d sure appreciate it. Voting ends Saturday August 12th.
Thanks!
Reality Bites Book Awards Polls
USA Today Bestselling Author
Recreating myself from all I have always been.
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Witchcraft, Magick, Paganism & Metaphysical Matters
Because we can do anything
An Independent Publisher
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Experiences in writing
Science fiction short stories with a side of sarcasm, snark, and satire.
K. M. Herkes, Author
"Freedom isn't just a word, but a way of life.."
The story world of a madman. I bring cookies.
a weird/horror fiction zine. debut issue on sale now.
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Publishers of fine science fiction
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