Goals? I No Need No Stinkin’ Goals . . . Yes I Do. :(

Posted on November 2, 2014 by Charles Yallowitz

I just keep coming back to the above video, especially when I’m biking.  I suggest you take a break and listen.  Really good.

Anyway, this week will be interesting.  My mom goes in for elbow surgery tomorrow and I’m in charge of the cooking.  This means both parents will be around the house, so my computer time will be hard to predict.  My son has Tuesday off, so not much will get done on that day.  I’m going to start my final editing run on Curse of the Dark Wind, which is primarily to maintain continuity.  If I’m lucky, I can get it done by the following Monday, but it’ll mostly likely take more time than that.  I’m assuming there will be days of low activity and high exhaustion.

On the plus side, I’m starting the process of putting Beginning of a Hero on Netgalley.  A big thank you to my lovely, patient editor who I’m sure wanted to feed me her Kindle for a few the errors.  I wouldn’t blame her after a few more blunders I found in Compass Key that have been fixed and uploaded.  I think I rush too much when it comes to editing, so I’m going to take it easy for the upcoming book.  At least I’m going to try.

The posts for this week are very simple because they’re more art from Kayla Matt.  She has do pictures of the other Legends of Windemere cast and each day will have 2-3 posts for the characters.  This will include . . . let’s make that a surprise.  I just hope everyone enjoys the pictures and has a fun week.

This is a very boring post because things are simply going to be up in the air.  My mom gets the priority for obvious reasons.  It’s also November, which I learned from last year is a very slow and aggravating month for sales.  I have a few things going up and will keep my eye out for more, but this is going to be a big test of patience and hope.

Week’s goals!

  1. Edit as much of Curse of the Dark Wind as I can.
  2. Cook dinners.
  3. Entertain son on Tuesday.
  4. The usual biking, marketing, showering, and possibly sleeping.
  5. Writing the next goal post.
  6. Looking for solitude.
  7. Vote or something on Tuesday.
  8. Now that I found the old notes of the bounty hunter series, I have to choose who remains and who gets cast into the ether.
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Cover Reveal for Imminent Danger and How To Fly Straight Into It by Michelle Proulx

Posted on November 1, 2014 by Charles Yallowitz

The story behind the new cover:

In the far-gone year of two thousand and twelve, a naive young authoress with a trusting heart gave unto a company called iUniverse thousands of dollars with which to publish her novel. But alas! For this foolish young authoress did not realize the assisted-publishing path was fraught with peril, and the thousands paid were not in value received. Control was relinquished, prices did skyrocket, and the young authoress cried out to the heavens, “Woe is me! Would that I had done this publishing business myself!” And the young authoress did take it upon herself to publish the novel, commissioning a talented artist to provide her with a new cover that doth more accurately capture the spirit of her novel. And lo! The new cover is revealed.

Imminent Danger and How to Fall Straight Into It by Michelle Proulx

Imminent Danger and How to Fall Straight Into It by Michelle Proulx

What Is the Story?

High school junior Eris Miller thinks she’s having a bad day when her roommate’s boyfriend catches her stepping out of the shower wearing nothing but a towel. Then she gets abducted by scaly six-armed aliens with a strange fondness for the color blue, and her day suddenly gets a whole lot worse.

Trapped on a spaceship bound for the slave markets of Sirius B, Eris fears she’ll never see her home again. But then fate whisks her away from her reptilian captors and into the arms of Varrin, a fast-talking space pirate who promises to deliver her safely back to Earth. He claims to have her best interests at heart, but Eris soon discovers that her charming rescuer has a hidden agenda.

As they race across the galaxy, outrunning a villainous figure from Varrin’s past, Eris begins to realize that their relationship is putting her planet, her life, and her heart in imminent danger. She knows that trusting Varrin could prove deadly … but what other choice does she have?

DSCF1026Author bio:

Michelle Proulx was born on the market moon of Vega Minor where she spent her formative years reading, writing, and gambling at illegal underground jsgarn fighting rings. While en route to Alpha Centauri, Michelle crash-landed her space yacht on the planet Earth. She now lives in Canada and divides her time between observing the local fauna and repairing her star ship.

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BIG CELEBRATION GIVEAWAY AT MICHELLE PROULX- THE WEBSITE!!!

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I Am What You See

Posted on November 1, 2014 by Charles Yallowitz
izquotes.com

izquotes.com

Who am I?
That some may wish to know
Not as much a stranger as you think
I am the hero and the villain
Every monster, god, and goddess
They are the masks that I reveal
Upon the page and screen

Who am I?
A father who works hard
To balance all the children
One of flesh and blood
All others on the mental plane
Each one yelling for attention
Creating endless dins

Who am I?
No different than the man you know
My stories make no change
College tales and whimsy fun
Not much from present day
Cooking, cleaning, and typing
I live the life of a stay-at-home

Who am I?
An author
A father
A friend
The person you have seen
On here for two long years
I truly have held little back

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You can #win a #kindle (oh yes you can).

Posted on November 1, 2014 by Charles Yallowitz

M T McGuire's avatarM T McGuire Authorholic

Weeeeee peps!

The new Awesome Indies revamped, rejuvenated, reinvigorated, redoubtable website is relaunched today! Oh yeh.

Do I hear you say uh?

OK, here’s a bit about Awesome Indies. Their aim is to sift through the indie book world picking out quality reads. The premise is that if you go to Awesome Indies and browse their catalogue you will get quality, properly produced stuff. In other words, they cut the crap so you don’t have to. Well… of course they do, two of my books are on there (phnark geez I’m modest). To be honest, there they have left off a couple of authors whose work I admire (David Staniforth and Jim Webster) but at the same time, for books of a certain type they pick well. I’ve not had a duffer off there yet, hence my recommending the site here on my blog.

Today, it being the relaunch and…

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New Release….

Posted on October 31, 2014 by Charles Yallowitz

Sue Vincent's avatarSue Vincent's Daily Echo

Doomsday: Dark Sage

Now available on Amazon

The piper of Shacklow
The fiddler of Fin
The old woman of Demon’s Dale
Calls them all in.

dark-sage-cover-front

They said I was born of the Balefire, when the priestesses left the enclosure to open the womb of the land as the dark time fled. I did not know, not then.

She was of the Old People, small and dark, a plump figure hunched singing over the quern. He tended the goats and fowl and life was simple. I learned the ways of hut and hearth, playing in the dirt with the dogs, my feet always stained with the green of the grass.

I do not remember that they ever spoke my name. They called me little one or bright one because of my hair and smiled, and sometimes shared glances I could not read.

Grandmother shared our hut. She never moved from her…

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What Did I Cook This Week?

Posted on October 31, 2014 by Charles Yallowitz

Maybe this will become a new thing if I retain the cooking chores around here.  Also if I do any interesting.  This week was rather tame, especially after my parents came home 2 weeks early from their trip.  This didn’t change the menu so much as I didn’t bother taking pictures of the Wednesday and Thursday dishes.  Had more important things to do.  It was only marinated chicken over bagged salad and pizza muffins, so no real loss.  Monday and Tuesday had the fun stuff.

Pasta with Asian Meatballs

Pasta with Asian Meatballs

These are the meatballs from last week with pasta and the last of some vodka sauce.  Small tip: Make sure the meatballs are fully cooked in the microwave before popping one in your mouth.  Cold core is icky.  Have to say the Asian Meatballs were a success.

Maple Kielbasa Bites with Rice

Maple Kielbasa Bites with Rice

Maple Kielbasa Bites

Maple Kielbasa Bites

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These are Maple Kielbasa Bites, which are rather simple to make.  1/4 Cup Maple Syrup + 2 Tbsps of Dijon Mustard = dip.  Just coat, skewer, and grill.  For some reason the coating didn’t stick that well this time, so it didn’t have a strong taste.  The hardest part of this recipe was finding the skewers since my parents packed them away somewhere.  Had to buy cheap ones.

This coming week will have the interesting meals.  With my mom going in for surgery any day now, my dad is taking care of her and I’m making the kitchen.  I think Monday is the only easy day with chicken sausage and fries.  After that I have a tofu stir fry, BBQ roast beef sandwiches, canadian bacon sandwiches (BLT variation), and sweet garlic chicken.  Not sure how I’m supposed to edit Curse of the Dark Wind while doing all this.  That isn’t even counting the following week where I tackle a Bourbon Chicken recipe and the ‘king’ of the vacation menu TACO LASAGNA!  That one is a two day workload.

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Special Halloween Treat — New Free Short Story “The Dusk Bugs”!

Posted on October 31, 2014 by Charles Yallowitz

Michelle Proulx's avatarMichelle Proulx - Author

As the title of this post indicates, I have a special Halloween treat for you — a free short story! This is my latest foray into the world of short fiction writing (the first being, of course, The Coin Collector), and I had a blast writing it. I also suffered several minor panic attacks and a near emotional collapse, but you’ll have to read the story to figure out why.

This short story is, of course …

dusk bugs cover 5

How delightfully campy is that cover? I had so much fun making it — it reminds me of a poster for an old B-movie thriller. Moving on …

The Dusk Bugs Summary

A pleasant evening stroll through the banana kingdom turns terrifying when our intrepid narrator is attacked by the most vicious and relentless of all predators — the dusk bugs.

If you read this story, your skin will crawl and your heart will…

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Audiobook Giveaway!

Posted on October 31, 2014 by Charles Yallowitz

Kate Sparkes's avatardisregard the prologue

Release day approacheth!

I can’t take a lot of credit for this one, what with being a sellout and all. The good folks at Tantor have performed their magic, rounded up their talent, worked hard on this project, and come up with a lovely audiobook version of Bound.

And they sent me some copies. Hooray!

Ooooh... Ooooh…

Aaaaaah... shiny! Aaaaaah… shiny!

Yep, 10 discs. 12.5 hours. Unabridged.

I’m not gonna lie. This is a confusing and exciting time for me. I’ve never listened to a full audiobook, myself. I get really distracted and then have NO idea what’s going on. But I’ve had a chance to listen to snippets from both readers on this one (as in, I got to hear a few minutes when I drove to the grocery store yesterday, YESSSS), and they’re both fantastic readers.

Also… hot accent. Just saying.

If you like audiobooks, I think this is going to…

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Monsters by C. Miller

Posted on October 31, 2014 by Charles Yallowitz

Last day of monsters has those ‘donated’ by C. Miller.  Check out her blog and her two books: REAVE and ELUDE!

Garfink

This is a plant creature that has the ability to take the form of whatever flora it touches while in its seed phase.  When a seed, the Garfink has two leafy extension that carry it on the wind and can even flap if it plummets.  Once it lands on or touches a plant, it will combine some of the new pollen with its own to grow into a replica.  For example, a Garfink that touches an oak will become one with a few minor differences.  One is that they grow to full size within a fraction of the time of the original.  They also have hidden barbs that can only be seen if put under a microscope.  Whenever an animal is injured by a Garfink, it is injected with a toxin that puts it into a coma.  This rarely result in death as it is done to create a new seed.  Once awake, the animal will have a headache until they walk outside and are forced to sneeze out the seed.

Snadderbuckin

A strange riding and hunting beast utilized by the people of Gylgruk.  These short-haired creatures have four short legs on a rotund body, which makes you think they aren’t very fast.  Well you would be right, but they don’t really need to be fast since they have incredible endurance.  A Snadderbuckin is 50% mouth and lungs, so it can inhale prey that is bigger than its body.  The long, flat heads resemble a Venus Flytrap with a ‘cage’ of spike-like teeth that it can use to contain whatever it swallows.  Within the mouth is saliva that acts like a tranquilizer and prevents captured prey from fighting back.  The only drawback to the Snadderbuckin being used for hunting is that it is difficult to get the food out of its jaws.  Most times the hunters have to pry the mouth open and remove the prey, risking being trapped themselves.

(Bonus video since I nearly forgot it and made the upcoming post before this one.)

Posted in Monster Maker Fun | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

#Read a #FREEBIE #Fantasy #ShortStory #BOOK by #Author Natasja Hellenthal

Posted on October 31, 2014 by Charles Yallowitz

Enjoy a free fantasy short story!

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