Chaos Before the Storm: Spring Break Meets Book Release

Posted on April 7, 2018 by Charles Yallowitz

(Apparently, this was the top of the charts the day I was born.)

A few minutes ago, I hit publish on War of Nytefall: Loyalty.  The sale site should be up by the time I finish the morning appointments and errands.  That means I’ll be sitting down this afternoon to get all the promos sent out and started.  For those who volunteered to help, I’ll be sending files that have Word and HTML versions inside as well as the cover art and author photo.  My priorities for the set up is going to be:

  • Promo sites (Goodkindles, Goodreads, AskDavid, etc.)
  • Guest posts (Never too late to ask for the ‘Book is Live’ post or a personalized topic)
  • Weekly tweet set up
  • Run through scheduled posts to add the Amazon link

The ‘Book is Live’ post won’t be up until tomorrow though and I’ll be scrambling to reply to things.  The reason is because Monday is my birthday, so Sunday is the only day I have to see a movie (Ready Player One) and go out for dinner with the family.  I don’t like throwing up the post and walking away, but timing is iffy.  Part of the issue was the timing of my son’s Spring Break.  Releasing at the beginning of that would have meant I’d spend the first week away from my computer.  This means only the first day of the release is chaotic.

Speaking of the Spring Break, it was rather exhausting and didn’t do my nerves any wonder.  The whole thing started with Passover and I didn’t finish the final edits before the whole thing started.  It took a few nights of to get that done since I refused to edit while exhausted and I lost last Thursday through Saturday.  Think I managed to finish it on Wednesday night?  Things became a blur because of the weather and my son’s 3 hour martial arts camp didn’t give me enough time to comfortably edit a chapter.  We watched ‘Justice League’ after that.  Had a play date with friends and the rain destroyed the other days’ outdoor activities.

Frustration did set in a lot of times.  Bought my son a new Lego set with four characters (Flash, Reverse Flash, Cyborg, and Killer Frost), but found that NONE of the characters were in the sealed bags.  Even the decals were missing, so we had to rush back to the store and do an exchange.  At first, I was told that they couldn’t exchange Legos, which got a ‘OH, MAN!’ from my son.  They found out they could since I was switching it for the only other one in the store.  That had the pieces and he’s been happy.

The other frustrating thing was playing Lego Indiana Jones with my son.  We were playing Lego Batman for a while, which is apparently a lot easier.  He also had gotten used to being invulnerable, which we haven’t unlocked yet.  The thing with Lego Indie is that you have to build, dig, and solve puzzles while getting charged by an endless wave of bad guys as well as deal with booby traps.  An 8-year-old doesn’t understand the traps and the puzzles weren’t as straightforward as the Batman ones.  So, the times he took a level, I was yelling directions and ending each ‘adventure’ with him patting me on the head and saying that I tried.  Keep in mind that he’s thanking me for trying to direct him.  The most common phrases:

  • “Go left!  That’s the right!  Left!  Not up!  Left!  Cliff!”
  • “Stop switching to Marion and jumping around!”
  • “Why are you literally running in a circle?”
  • “Break and points!”
  • “Bad guy . . . Bad guy . . . BAD GUY!”
  • “Please stop making the llama poop.”

He had a blast, but I was drained because we were trying to save up points for an expensive extra.  I’d learned on the first run that he didn’t like ending a level with less than 10,000 points and you lose 2-4 grand every time you die.  Hence, me yelling like a maniac and trying to do it animated enough that he found it funny.  I really can’t figure out how Batman came out easier than this one, but the bad guys with grenades and rocket launchers definitely make a difference.  After all, he never seems to notice those characters are around.

Next week is going to be low key for me.  I need a week to recover my energy, especially with these panic attacks getting worse.  It’s only really at night too.  Actual birthday is Monday and Tuesday is a parent/teacher conference, so I wouldn’t be in the mood to dive into a new book or editing run anyway.  I’ll probably set up posts for June, outlining some other stories, and look for more sites to help push War of Nytefall.  Really hoping this series comes out strong.  Haven’t decided what the background noise will be since being cooped up in my room might not be that appealing.  Can’t watch anime downstairs where everyone is hanging out either.  I might give a look around Netflix and Amazon Prime to see if there’s anything that my wife isn’t interested in.

Plans for the week?

  1. Release and promote War of Nytefall: Loyalty
  2. Birthday movie, dinner, and possible outing for a drink or two.
  3. June posts
  4. Look over War of Nytefall: Tempetation outline.
  5. Outline more of the Sin stories
  6. Watch an anime
  7. Finish reading the Dragonball Z manga
  8. Possible pizza reward depending on bday dinner
  9. Sleep a bit more

As stated, feel free to request the HTML ‘Book is Live’ post that will be up tomorrow.  Help is always appreciated.

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Meet Guest Author, Margareth Stewart…

Posted on April 6, 2018 by Charles Yallowitz

Chris The Story Reading Ape's avatarChris The Story Reading Ape's Blog

Tell us about yourself.

My real name is Mônica Mastrantonio and Margareth Stewart is my pen name, but I like it so much that I ask to people to call me Margareth. I was born in Brazil in a little town called Londrina which stands for Little London as it was colonized by the British, and I also have Italian citizenship because of my great-grand-parents that immigrated there. Now I live in Sao Paolo, few months in Miami and at writer´s residencies around the world. Besides, I´m a PhD professor and tutor in Social and Organizational Psychology at University, a busy-mom of three kids, and so many other projects around.

What inspired your book “Open/Pierre´s journey after war”?

Can you believe it was a Facebook group? Nano Writing Month! Awesome, I know. It was November, and this group ran a contest for the person who would reach 50.000 word-counts first…

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Timmy’s Casket Emporium: For All Your Six Feet Under Needs

Posted on April 6, 2018 by Charles Yallowitz

Yahoo Image Search

Welcome to . . . Oh, one of your kind.  Sorry, but things always get complicated when vampires come looking.  Humans get the standard things like pillows, colorful decorations, fancy woods, televisions on the inside of the lid, and minibars in the sides.  Those I can do without raising any questions, but vampires require that we go into the basement and you pay extra.  Follow me through this casket, which never sells because nobody liked this band in the first place.  Not that one, but another one that we don’t have the rights to mention here.

First, I’m obligated to tell you that we don’t make crypts and mausoleums.  Nothing more than the caskets and coffins here.  Materials range from various types of wood to stone to glass.  We have more unique types like gold and steel.  We actually try to steer your kind away from wood because of a common tactic with hunters.  They’ll take part of the lid and use it as a stake, which is fairly ingenious.  Hey, you can admire the creative style of your opponent while undoing it.  Cardboard is an option for some reason.  So, you want cardboard with metal inside to give the illusion of a regular box.  That sounds like it could backfire, but I see no reason why we can’t do it.  Just know that we are not responsible for it being mistaken for garbage.

Considering you don’t want this to look like a casket, we’ll skip the outside additions.  Yes, we have decals that you can add to make it more authentic.  Now, are you a vampire that requires dirt inside or can we do a nice lining?  Both is possible.  Give us a sample of what you need and we can have rune-covered containers built into the corners.  You don’t get dirty, but still has the same effect.  Let me get some measurements to know how stuffed the lining can be without making it too cramped.  Since you’re not actually dead, you still toss and turn a bit, so you need wiggle room.  We do have an addition where you can add a scent to the lining by adding perfume infused beads.  Our most popular smells are lavender, new car, summer bog, pizza, and cedar wood chips.  For some reason, vampires don’t like chocolate because it reminds them of what they can’t have.  All you have to do is come back once every three months for a batch of oil to pour into a hidden port.

Now for the fun additions that will make this almost like a home.  After all, vampires don’t fall asleep right away, so it pays to have some entertainment.  As I said, we have televisions for the dead, which have small batteries.  For you, we can add a bigger battery that you can recharge during your travels.  Other options are video game systems, computers . . . Well, I guess the noise would attract people to the box.  That’s why we can put in some soundproofing if you really want this.  Another idea is a variation on the mini-bar, which is a small library.  You can’t fit more than ten books in there, but you can always switch out the ones you’ve already read.  Sure, eBook readers are an option, but the lighting might be bad for your eyes in there.

Those are the main parts and we can go over the nuances later.  Please note that we carry warranties by the decade instead of single years.  Vampires are practically immortal and you guys tend to lose all concept of time as you age.  Any other questions?  No, I’m not Timmy.  My name is Tommy, but there was a typo in the sign and stationary, so I went with it.

Posted in Olde Shoppe Stories | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

The 2018 Author Interview Series Featuring Nicholas T. Davis

Posted on April 6, 2018 by Charles Yallowitz

This gallery contains 7 photos.

Don Massenzio It’s time for the next subject for my 2018 author interview series. Author interviews are posted every Friday throughout the year. I am honored to continue this series with author, artist, musician and blogger Nicholas T. Davis Nick … Continue reading →

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Titus Winthrop: Leader of the Vengeance Hounds

Posted on April 5, 2018 by Charles Yallowitz

Vampire Hunter D

Titus Winthrop is Mab’s younger brother who stands at about 7 feet tall and wields twin claymores because he can.  Might seem rather blunt, but that actually works for the character to some extent.  He’s also part of a trio that stems from the Vampire game I played prior to going to college.  These are my high school friends who introduced me to the game and we didn’t take it seriously at all.  Mayhem and acting like monstrous vampires was the point, which is why my vampirized author didn’t really fit.  I’ll get to him later in the post.  Titus is definitely not the guy he was back then though.  In fact, he doesn’t even have the same name.

Way back when, his name was Lurch because he was huge.  He carried big guns and never shied away from a fight.  There was also a session where he freaked out at the sight of fire and went berserk in a CVS.  It still fit the mood of the game because it was all about having fun and being vampires.  Combat was a constant activity and I think Lurch might have been the instigator a lot of the times.  Definitely wasn’t boring when he was around even when he was revived for a summer game where I used Clyde.  Talk about a pair that shouldn’t be in the same zip code much less the same room.  Both of them enjoyed fighting so much that you’d never know what would happen.  This is also where Lurch was introduced to the ‘Merit/Flaw’ system that allowed you to customize characters.  So, he was reborn after a quick explanation of Large Size and Ambidexterity followed by everyone turning pale at him requested two giant swords.  Man, was he a force of destruction after that one.

While I kept his physical stature, I couldn’t keep the rest.  The name had to change and I thought of Titus because it was close to Titan.  He actually had the surname of Winthrop first and then I thought it would be fun to make him Mab’s brother.  He was turned by one of her enemies in the hopes of using him against her, but it backfired and the siblings teamed up.  I’m actually thinking that Titus was the one who joined Mab and Clyde to turn their partnership into the begins of the gang.  This also meant he couldn’t be a battle-crazed monster, so I made him intelligent and insightful.  At the very least, he’s more cool-headed and has no problem voicing his opinion.  That doesn’t say much in some instances because I had to honor the original by giving him a temper.  It’s not as easy to trigger, but it’s there and rather specific.

Oddly enough, Titus brings in a big sense of family to the series.  The rage triggers I gave him revolve entirely around threats to the gang, which he sees as his brothers and sisters.  Mab gets special preference, but he’d rip a person’s head off for making a move on anyone, including Clyde who is more powerful.  In this way, Titus became a protector and leader within the ranks, which helped out a lot in terms of the group dynamic.  While Clyde and Mab are more adept at solo and duo jobs, Titus is the one who works with larger groups and that’s why I designed the Vengeance Hounds.  They’re not thieves, so much as mercenaries and bandits.  Seriously, a giant of a man can’t pickpocket if his hands are too big to get into the pocket.  This also helped the transition for Titus and his companions in the wake of Clyde’s disappearance.  Since they were more warrior than thief, it wasn’t too difficult to become Xavier’s special ops team.  This does pose a problem though since it has led to their ranks being reduced to 3 by the time the series begins.  It’s another factor in Titus’s protective nature and will be a deciding factor in his Dawn Fang powers if he decides to accept the change.

The funny story deals with the one time Titus, when he was Lurch, couldn’t do anything in a fight.  It was hilarious because he missed with every roll and it was against mortals in a bar fight he started.  On the other hand, my artist vampire was destroying everyone as he tried to get out in one piece.  I was putting people through tables and shattering chairs over heads with my piddly strength.  The giant was doing more damage to his pride and ended up having to get dragged out by me.  This led to us being hunted too, which ended with my guy getting his head blown off by an Ithaca Shotgun (I asked the gunman before death) and Titus/Lurch getting away.  Eh, it was the last game we’d get to play before we all went off to college and I still chuckle about it.  How could I not use Titus after such a fun time?

Posted in Character Origins, War of Nytefall | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

11 Tips To Using LinkedIn To Promote Your Book

Posted on April 5, 2018 by Charles Yallowitz

Nicholas C. Rossis's avatarNicholas C. Rossis

This is a guest post by Mollie Porein,  a highly skilled web content writer. She knows what an expository essay is and can help you write this kind of assignment. She is interested in topics about education, writing, blogging, motivation, etc. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow her on Twitter.

I, for one, have always struggled with using LinkedIn to promote my books. So, I found her post particularly intriguing. If you do try her tips, please let us know how they worked out for you!

Using LinkedIn To Promote Your Book

1. Selling yourself

Using LinkedIn | From the blog of Nicholas C. Rossis, author of science fiction, the Pearseus epic fantasy series and children's book Image: TipScrew

In this day and age, self-promotion can be a rather daunting prospect. Digital marketing in the modern world calls for a rather personal approach to boost your online presence. One of the best ways to do this is through professional networking websites such as LinkedIn.

This multifaceted business-oriented service operates for professional…

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Legends of Windemere Highlight Post #fantasy #series

Posted on April 5, 2018 by Charles Yallowitz

All Cover Art by Jason Pedersen

Click Here for the Series Spotlight on N.N. Light’s Site!

Posted in Guest Blogging, Legends of Windemere, Spotlight | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Curse of Time, on #LisaBurtonRadio

Posted on April 5, 2018 by Charles Yallowitz

coldhandboyack's avatarEntertaining Stories

Lisa Burton

Welcome everyone. Turn down the lights, find your silver bells, and possibly a crystal that speaks to you. You might want to light a candle or two. This is Lisa Burton Radio, and I’m your host Lisa the robot girl.

My special guest today is living under some unusual circumstances, but we’ll let her tell us about them. “Welcome to the show, Amelina Scott.”

“Hi Lisa. I’m so excited about this, a chance to tell my story to a robot girl, that’s beyond amazing!”

“I already mentioned that your living arrangement is a bit odd. Can you fill our listeners in a bit?”

“Yeah, my dad disappeared on my thirteenth birthday. Sorry, I find this difficult to talk about. It really hurts. I, I cope by writing my feelings down in poetry. I don’t like to talk about it… But for you I will …

“Dad’s vanishing was the weirdest…

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7 Tips for Vampire Survival: Flossing Is a Given

Posted on April 4, 2018 by Charles Yallowitz

Selene from Underworld

Vampire society sure has a lot of rules and a lot of those tend to revolve around obeying the older ones.  They usually result in destruction if broken too, which doesn’t really help if you’re trying to survive the daily grind.  Knowing which knee to bow on when the royal heir to the throne of some place you’ve never been to won’t protect you from hunters.  By the way, it’s the right in the Northern Hemisphere and the left in the Southern, which is why so many vampires get killed on the equator.  Anyway, lets go over a list of practical rules to keep your head on your shoulders.

  1. For the love of Vlad, don’t perch on rooftops at night.  There’s no reason for this because most of the food is at street level.  Attacking someone on their balcony or in their apartment is possible, but it’s a lot of work.  Not to mention, you kind of stand out among the gargoyles even if you’re all in black.  Best case scenario is that someone mistakes you for one of the many superheroes.  Worst case scenario, you’re running from the cops who think you’re a pervert.
  2. Clean up after yourself.  If you’re a vampire who has to kill when they eat then hide the body.  Try to scatter them around the city or possibly burn them.  If you leave too many around then you’ll out the entire species.  For those that can eat without killing, do something to make the victim not remember what happened.  Barring mental powers, you can pretend to be a mugger and knock them out before biting.  Once they’re aware of fangs in the neck, they’re going to know what’s going on.  Unless you’re a vampire in a world that has no movies, shows, books, games, and underground cultures revolving around your people.
  3. Stop trying to pretend you’re a goth.  That’s not the same as a vampire and you’re making both groups look ridiculous.  Especially since it means you’re a hundred-year-old hanging around high schools and malls.  That’s a level of creepiness that will get you investigated.
  4. If you do find yourself facing a vampire hunter, don’t run slavering at them or make a villainous speech.  Their job is to destroy you and they’ve been training for it.  These people aren’t uncoordinated snack boxes like you find on the street.  They’ve studied your habits and weaknesses, which means you’re the underdog here.  Might be smarter to run and think of a plan.  Run in a pack, track the hunter until you see an opening, leave town, or protect yourself.
  5. You know you’re own weakness, so work to reduce them.  Wear a chainmail vest or a harness that holds metal plates over your heart to avoid staking.  Carry a hooded jacket around to give you some cover from the sun.  Collars with metal studs can make decapitations more difficult.  Claim to be an atheist, so holy symbols and water hold no power over you.  Preparation and caution is key to a long life.
  6. Get yourself tested at least once a month.  You’re eaten from total strangers with no knowledge of their previous experiences.  Last thing you want is to get sick and pass it on to a mortal that you actually like.  Where would you go?  There has to a vampirized doctor out there somewhere.  If not then make one.
  7. Don’t join a cult of vampires who wish to conquer the world.  These groups never succeed and bring nothing, but trouble.  Just give them a wide berth and let them attract all the hunters in the area.  If they’re wiped out then it will give the illusion of all vampires disappearing, so you can remain in relative peace.  If they do pull off the impossible and conquer the world then it doesn’t make a difference to you.  You’re a vampire like they are, so you’ll continue doing what you’re doing.  They aren’t going to suddenly turn on their own . . . Might still want to remember #5.
Posted in War of Nytefall | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 26 Comments

Teaser Tuesday: Fearing the Reunion

Posted on April 3, 2018 by Charles Yallowitz

Cover Art by Alison Hunt

With it being Spring Break and me gearing up for the big release, I’m going with a few simple character introductions.  This week has the leader of the Vengeance Hounds getting his bio, so I figure I’ll put up a teaser with him.  Sort of.  The guy really only fights and shows off his warrior abilities in spoiler heavy scenes.

War of Nytefall: Loyalty
Coming April 7th!

Continue reading →

Posted in Teaser Tuesday, War of Nytefall | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments