Archive for May 2013

Authors Should Be Seen And Not Heard + Word Counts

Here I discuss how an author's behavior can affect the perception of their work. Then I share my word counts. Links for more info below.

Still time to enter this week's giveaway: http://bit.ly/N1vSua


----TOPICS MENTIONED---
Ender's Game Controversy: http://bit.ly/11iZNLf
I Am Number Four/James Frey Controversy: http://nym.ag/cIQDl0
When Authors Attack: http://bit.ly/ZiUCuC

---- MY BOOKS ---
The Beast: http://bit.ly/17B6J90
Exaulta: http://bit.ly/YKYVfQ
Sky: http://bit.ly/SdeMwJ
Illusion: http://bit.ly/YvjZ9T

Book Haul & Word Counts

Sorry this is going up a lil late in the evening today. The internet went out last night and only just came back up. I hope you guys enjoy the book haul and the word count update at the end. Don't miss the ending bloopers!

My book hauls consist of books that I have purchased, were gifted to me, or sent to me for review. I mostly read Young Adult Fantasy/Paranormal, but will read other genres. The ARCs will eventually be given away, so please subscribe to enter those!
List of my Book Hauls: http://bit.ly/Qxm9PX

---- MY BOOKS ---
The Beast: http://bit.ly/17B6J90
Exaulta: http://bit.ly/YKYVfQ
Sky: http://bit.ly/SdeMwJ
Illusion: http://bit.ly/YvjZ9T

Music provided by Royalty Free Music

Tried Something New

Yesterday I tried something I had never tried before. A live giveaway. I wasn't quite sure what to expect going into it. When I first came up with the idea, I was excited. I thought it was wonderful and that everyone would love it. Then I started posting about it the night before and didn't get much of a response, which lead to some nervousness. What if no one came? 
     Interestingly, the outcome was neither. It wasn't a runaway success nor was it a complete failure. We gave away all of the copies and I think everyone had a good time. I also learned a lot that I think will help me in the future.
     I think the biggest thing that I learned was that the live giveaway really should be limited to an hour and a half or less. This one went on longer, which was fine, but I think everyone was wearing down near the end. So unless the turn out is so amazing that we're having a blast, the giveaway should be kept within a set time limit.
     I'm really grateful to Bunny Cates (@BunnyCates) for joining me in the chat. Having her there was a last minute decision, but I'm so glad she was. I think Bunny and I bounce off each other in a way that is entertaining for viewers and just cracks me up. Without her, I'm not sure the chat would have gone so smoothly or been as much fun. 
     Of course, I've gotta thank everyone who came. You guys rock. You truly make YouTube awesome. Without you, it would just be me talking to a camera. lol Truly. If you want to learn more about Prince of Earth by Steven J. Carrol, click here. Make sure you tune in next Monday for the next giveaway. As well as Thursday for a book haul-- Whoot! If you missed today's live chat and you want to catch up on the laughs, here it is:


Change Of Plans: Giveaway Party?!

I've been planning on relaunching my weekly giveaways. I was going to do this weeks ago, but something always kept it from happening. Like my computer breaking. BUT I'm glad I did put it off because I came up with a great idea today on how to relaunch my weekly giveaways in a fun and new way.
     A live show! Sometime tomorrow (Monday 13th), around 2pm or later, I'll host a live show on my channel and giveaway one signed copy of Steven J. Carroll's PRINCE OF EARTH every 15 minutes...or something like that. We'll chat and hangout. During the minutes between giveaways you guys can go to my giveaway page and do a few things in order to gain extra entries. Unlike my usual giveaways, you only have 4 basic ways to get entries. BUT after I announce one winner, I'll refresh the form and you guys can do it all over again until all 10 copies have been given out. I might even give away a few $5 gift cards to B&N. No promises, but I'm thinking about it. 
     Obviously, we'll have to play this all by ear because I have never done this before and I don't know anyone who has. So what do you think? Wanna try it? If so, tell me around what time you want me to do this chat-- keep in mind that my timezone is EST. 2pm? 4pm? 6pm? and so on. Also, if I give away one copy of PRINCE OF EARTH every 10 minutes and a few gift cards, the chat will end up being about 2 hours. So give me your thoughts ASAP! Time's a wastin!

Scared Shitless

Have you ever been literally terrified? Have you ever seen someone terrified? I bet you think that you have, but you probably haven't. I experienced true terror for the first time in my life last night. Don't worry, this isn't going to be a depressing blog post. No one was hurt and I wasn't afraid for anyone's life...Well aside from my own.
     Before I tell you what happened, I should probably explain my greatest fear. We all have one. Maybe you're afraid of heights or small spaces. Some of us I'd imagine go our whole lives without really ever knowing our greatest fear. To be clear, when I say "greatest fear" I don't mean things like losing a child or dying alone. Yes, those are things to be afraid of, but those are not things that would bring about the type of fear that I'm speaking of. Fear that can only be categorized as terror.
     My greatest fear is ghosts or anything like it (demons, ghouls, ect...). I know this is true for me because it denies all logic. Logically, I do not believe in ghosts or the like. Spiritually, they have no place with me. However, there is a part of me, the more primitive or perhaps the scared child in me, that still believes in their existence. This manifests in my everyday life. At night I feel vulnerable. When I'm sitting or sleeping, my back has to be at a wall-- ya know, so anything ghoulish can't sneak up on me. Shit you not, I made sure to set up my writing desk just this way. When I'm walking in the dark from my car to the house after work, I have to keep my eyes on the ground before me. Otherwise, I'm searching for things and convincing myself that I'm seeing what's not really there. 
     It's a fear that I have under control. I try not to think about it mostly. Just push it aside. Logically and spiritually, I don't believe in ghosts so my fear is pointless. Not to mention, I have NEVER SEEN A GHOST. Never. Not once. Sure I have some spooky stories to share and I've heard plenty of them ("Well, my cousin's best friend's brother saw one once."), but I've never actually seen a transparent person walking through my yard or that woman with her hair in her face (Ya know, that chick in every ghost horror movie. *shivers*) standing in my room. All of that being said, I realized last night just how strong my fear truly is.
     I've felt edgy for days now. I don't know why, but nighttime in the summer is scarier to me than nighttime in the winter. So I've had to try a little harder not to think about ghoulish-beings. Last night though, it didn't matter. It was 4 am. I was brushing my teeth.
     I normally shut the bathroom door when I'm readying for bed. Yes, because I feel vulnerable to ghostie attacks with it open. A strong imagination. A blessing and curse. I can dream up the most amazing things that leave me in awe, but It's just as easy for me to imagine something jumping around the open door frame at me.
     So I'm brushing my teeth. I generally shut the bathroom door, but I choose not to because some mosquitoes have followed me in and I'm hoping that they'll find their way out. I believe I was focusing on my teeth. Not thinking about anything in particular, just making sure to get my circular motions just right. Then I get the impression that something is next to me. 
     This happens to me all of the time. 10 out of 10 times I'll turn and see nothing or maybe the dog. This time ... there was a head. Two pairs of eyes leaning around the door frame and staring wide at me. Now, before you freak out or insist that I call one of those ghost shows that I'm too afraid to watch, let me just tell you that it was my dad. He had seen the bathroom light on and was coming to turn it off and popped his head around to see me. 
      What I saw was not my dad. I saw my greatest fear realized and I lost complete control of my actions. There was a person standing there that shouldn't have been there and it was too close for me to get away. There was no thought, just fear.... No, terror. 
     I screamed or more liked shouted in fear. It wasn't the high pitched scream that women always make in movies, but it was long and drawn out. I don't consider myself the screaming type, but my shout might have been affected by the toothbrush and gobs of foam filling my mouth. I quickly moved away as I screamed and half hunched over. I don't know if I was hunching over because the fear was incapacitating me or if I was aware of the paste falling out of my mouth and I didn't want it getting all over me. Both are very possible. 
     About halfway through the process of me moving away and hunching over, my mind became aware that it was my dad looking in and not a ghost. I also realized that I didn't have control over myself. My body was moving on its own. The scream coming from my throat didn't feel or sound like my own. It was the strangest sensation ever.
     As quickly as it all happened, it was over. I gained control of myself and my dad was immediately retreating back to his room, apologizing the whole way for scaring me. Truly he felt really bad about it. I was mystified, hunched over the running facet and shaking from head-to-toe. I had never experienced fear like that before. Even my dad said this morning that it was true terror on my face... and I was staring at him.
     I've been in a lot of scary situations and I've always acted with a fight instinct, but this time it was all flight. I suppose that makes sense. I mean, how do you defend yourself from a demon attack? Pretty certain that you don't, you just die. 
      I wonder if I would have reacted differently to this realized fear, if the perceived ghost-demon had been further away and not right on top of me, cornering me in a small bathroom. I think....maybe. I only have one experience to draw on. It was a similar situation. 4 am, getting reading for bed, but this time I was exiting the bathroom. Once again, it was my dad that I actually saw. He had just stepped out of the kitchen and was about to return to his bedroom when he turned and saw me as well. But, like last night, I didn't see him. I saw  a ghost. I instantly froze. Literally like a statue. And I felt this painful, cold, fear run from my head to my feet. Before it hit my feet, I realized it was my dad and I unfroze. I just clutched my heart and sighed with relief. So that time, I was able to fully assess the situation before I was taken by full-on panic. But, if it had been a ghost, I have no idea if I would have reacted or just remained frozen in fear. 
     I can easily say that the fear last night was the worst. It continued to affect me the remainder of the night. I kept waking up every 15-or-so minutes in a panic and completely confused. Around 6:45 am I actually had to remind myself that I was safe and that nothing that I was afraid of was real. I watched a bit of a documentary on Cleopatra to get my mind off it, but even then I only slept a few more hours. 
     I'm fine now though. Exhausted, but fine. I will surely sleep well tonight and when I get ready for bed, I am SO closing the bathroom door. I never want to experience that again. It's bad enough that my family will probably harass me about this for the next few years.    

If anyone has read this full post, I'd love to know if you've ever experienced a fear like this. OR if not, than what realized-fear would cause this sort of reaction for you? Thanks for reading!

#YTBookClub Meeting Rescheduled

Hey all! I just wanted to pop in and let you all know that we've rescheduled the next #YTBookClub meeting. Now instead of this Saturday we are moving the Falling Kingdoms discussion to the first Saturday in June. The only reason we're rescheduling is because life has just been so crazy for most of us. Hopefully in another month life will have slowed down and we'll all have read the book. So if you haven't yet read Falling Kingdoms, no worries you've got time yet.
     I also want to let you guys in on my coming giveaway relaunch. This next Monday I'll be giving away 10 signed copies of Steven J. Carroll's Prince Of Earth. I read Steven's first book, In The Window Room, and really enjoyed it. So make sure you tune in to my YouTube channel on Monday and lets see if we can give some books away.