Tag Archive for: free book

How the World Turns

/in , , , , /by

by Gay Yellen

Originally, I had planned this post to be all about what led up to the new release of my third book in The Samantha Newman Series. In it, I was going to detail the trials and tribulations that interfered with my ability to finish the story over the past five years, and to offer a free book at the end.

That post was titled “What a Writer Fears.” But with fresh horror happening in the Middle East, this novelist’s writerly problems seem too trivial to consider. Instead of a blow by blow account of the circumstances that held the book back, I’ll just say that for months and months and months, I struggled to create a coherent sentence, let alone a paragraph and chapter.

In short, I feared I would never be able to write again.

Sometimes, moving forward requires taking a step back. Frustrated as I felt, I couldn’t abandon Samantha any more than she could escape her crazy, mixed-up existence—especially when she was about to save another lost soul from ruin and learn an important life lesson along the way.

And so, with the encouragement of my precious fans, and the support of Stiletto sisters Lois Winston and Saralyn Richard, and writer friends Patty Flaherty Pagan and Pamela Fagan Hutchins, Book #3, The Body in the News is now available in ebook and print.

Like the first two books in the series, I wrote the new book to entertain readers, and hopefully, to inform and inspire. I hope it offers a few hours of escape from the messy, scary times we live in.

Life goes on for us lucky ones.

And so—in honor of the debut of Book #3—I am offering the one that started it all: The Body Business, Book #1 in the series, FREE today only. If you haven’t read it, grab it now to follow Samantha as she survives, undaunted, book by book.

May peace reign everywhere in the world. Until then, may we find comfort in books, and joy wherever we can find it.

The Samantha Newman Mystery Series

 

 

Copy That

/in /by

By Bethany Maines 


Most of my writing this month has been in the form of copywriting and, jeez, do I miss fiction. Churning out “welcome” scripting and press releases makes for a fun occasional challenge, but is no substitute for spending an afternoon putting a character in hot water (figuratively if it’s action, literally if it’s romance) and then figuring out how to get them out again (with a gun if it’s action, with a hot guy if it’s romance).

But one thing that copywriting does provide is practice in how to think about writing.
When the word count is proscribed, and the client says that it should be sort of, maybe, be something about this random list of things that has been collected, suddenly it becomes very important to communicate what the over-arching message is. What is the hierarchy of information that needs to be communicated? What does the audience/reader care about? How can we determine what needs to be said and what can be left out? In copywriting, the ability to construct thoughts clearly and to analyze and think critically about a piece come to the forefront. In a novel, an author can spend a bit more time decorating the place with adjectives and allowing characters to spiel off witty bits of dialogue that may not particularly move the story forward. In copywriting, there’s usually room for only one or two adjectives and they had better be the right adjective that supports the speaker or brands character. Copywriting skills are like exercising a new set of muscles and definitely make me a stronger writer. But on the other hand, I’ll be glad to go back to fiction! For one thing, they rarely let me write about hot guys or guns in copywriting.

***

Reminder! It’s not too late to get your FREE advance copy of Shark’s Instinct – book 1 one of the Shark Santoyo Crime Series.

Shark’s
Instinct: Fresh out of
prison and fresh out of luck, twenty-something Shark wants back into The
Organization. But when Geier, the mob boss with a cruel sense of humor, sends
Shark to the suburbs to find out who’s been skimming his take, Shark realizes
he’s going to need more than his gun and an attitude to succeed. With the clock
ticking, Shark accepts the help of the mysterious teenage fixer, Peregrine
Hays, and embarks on a scheme that could line his pockets, land him the girl
and cement his reputation with the gang—if he makes it out alive.


PRE-ORDER HERE or join the Advanced Reader Team to get a free copy using the form below!











*** 

A New Series with Bite!

/in /by

by Bethany Maines

I’ve been working very hard this year on multiple projects
and I’m finally beginning to be able to share some of them with you.  I’m excited to announce that October will see
the release of Book 1 of my new Shark Santoyo Crime Series.  Launching a new series is incredibly
difficult and one of the hardest things to garner are reviews on reputable
sites like Amazon and Goodreads.  So
toward that end I’m giving all of you the opportunity to become a part of my
Advance Reader Team.  Sign up using the
form below and you’ll be taken to the down load page to get a free digital copy
of Shark’s Instinct and in a few
weeks I’ll send you a reminder email to leave a review.  That’s it. 
No strings, just a free book.  I
hope you’ll join me as I venture into this new series!

Shark’s
Instinct: Fresh out of
prison and fresh out of luck, twenty-something Shark wants back into The
Organization. But when Geier, the mob boss with a cruel sense of humor, sends
Shark to the suburbs to find out who’s been skimming his take, Shark realizes
he’s going to need more than his gun and an attitude to succeed. With the clock
ticking, Shark accepts the help of the mysterious teenage fixer, Peregrine
Hays, and embarks on a scheme that could line his pockets, land him the girl
and cement his reputation with the gang—if he makes it out alive.


PRE-ORDER HERE or join the Advanced Reader Team using the form below!











*** 

Bethany Maines is the author of the Carrie Mae Mysteries, Wild Waters, Tales from the City of Destiny and An Unseen Current. You can also view the Carrie Mae youtube video or catch up with her on Twitter and Facebook.

A Fix for Your Post-Halloween Fog

/in /by
By AB Plum

Late, late morning after Halloween, the doorbell rings.

You’re still recovering from handing out candy to eleven-ninety kids (including teenagers who should’ve been too embarrassed to show up with their hands out). You shamble to the door. Despite repeated vows last night, you sneaked a chocolate treat here and there. Fog encircles your brain. Bracing yourself, you crack the door open and peer out.

No one yells, “Trick or Treat!”

Not a single Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump plasticized mask in sight. No Star Wars Jedis with drawn light sabers that cost $100 and up. No Cinderellas in gowns rivalling Disney’s creations with tiaras sparkling more brightly than many diamond engagement rings.

“Take this.” Your neighbor, dressed for jogging in the light mist, shoves a paper bag at you and pivots away, calling over her shoulder, “I bought way too much Halloween candy. Save me from myself.”

She speeds away before you can protest.

You close the door and open the bag. It’s brimming with the good stuff: M&Ms, Kit Kats, Snickers and Reese’s miniatures. Small means you can eat more, right? 

The mist pings off the window. Fortunately, you aren’t working today. Jogging’s a drag. What a great day to crawl back into bed. You’re an adult. You don’t need permission.

You succumb to temptation, candy sack on your chest, and open your ereader to the psychological thriller you downloaded last night as your own treat.

But you didn’t count on the doorbell interrupting—
from dusk right up until your bedtime.

Thunder rumbles. You shiver, pop a Snickers bar, and start reading the blurb . . .


An eleven-year-old prodigy morphs into a monster far scarier than any vampire or zombie or other paranormal misfit. Bullied by his older brother, rejected by his icy mother, and ignored by his absent father, Michael Romanov retaliates with the canniness of a budding psychopath.

You nod and fish around in the paper bag and read the first page . . . lost for the day.

In case you missed downloading your own Halloween treat? The Early Years is free now through November 3 at
Coming next Tuesday: A sneak peek from my late-November release of Book 2, The Lost Years, in The MisFit Series.


******
AB claims scary comic books ruined her for reading Dick and Jane. (She started reading at age four). Lots of other authors have left their imprint as well. She lives in Silicon Valley, where in 2016, she read at least one novel by Neil Gaiman, J.K. Rowling, Rachel Abbott, Kimberley McCreight, Stephen King, Jonathan Kellerman, Chelsea Cain, MJ Rose, Scott Nicholson, AB Plum, Jenny Shortridge, Katherine Howe, Jodi Picoult, Garth Stein, Emma Donoghue, C.B. Kline, Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, Paula Hawkins, and Dot Hutchison, M.L. Stedman among other great reads.