Coffin Hopping: How to Scare the Neighborhood Children

It's that time of year again...Yeah, baby! Zombies are coming, as well as vampires and werewolves, witches, ghosts, ghouls, demons and devils (and some pretty things, too, but those aren't nearly so much fun, are they?) In honor of the upcoming holiday, I've joined the Coffin Hop Web Tour again this year. In case you hadn't noticed by all the badges and banners...credit to atrtink for those, obvs I couldn't do something that cool...this is a huge event with artists and authors giving away hundreds of prizes on their sights. So hop on over to the list of horror authors and join us for some scartitivites.
 
As my family debated Halloween costumes this year, I got to thinking about the trendiness that Halloween has taken on. And more generally, the fall season. As soon as October begins, everyone is clamoring to post the first colored leaf photo, Tweeting about their pumpkin spice lattes (#PSL, of course) and instagramming pics of their newly dusted off Ugg boots and flannels. (Don't be offended, I'm poking fun at myself here, too). Fall is the hot new season, and it has been for several years now. Poor summer. So neglected.

When I was a kid, I don't remember adults dressing for Halloween. Perhaps my mom would find an old black skirt and a turtleneck, top it off with a straw hat, and call herself a witch, but the adult costumes were always kept to a minimum, made up of things they already had in the closet. Nowadays, Halloween is an all-ages event, with adult participation and enthusiasm (at least) as high as the kids'.

If you're not going to a party but stuck handing out candy, and you still want to dress up, consider scaring the neighborhood children. Oh yes. It might take a little more work than grabbing something off the shelf, but with the right makeup, face paint, and even items out of your closet, you can piece together a grim and gruesome costume.

You can go above and beyond and spend lots of money, but if you're like me, finances are tight this time of year with the holidays coming up. Zombies are still hot this year, as they have been for the past five or so years, and talk about a cheap and easy costume. Got an old t-shirt, a pair of ripped jeans and some dirt outside your house? All you need is some fake blood and maybe a makeup kit if you want to smear some white and black on your face. Smear the blood around your mouth, grime up your clothes a bit, dribble fake blood down the front of your shirt. Smudge some makeup (Halloween makeup or just regular old eyeliner) around your eyes, then go wait on your lawn. It's even better if you have a whole family or some friends willing to join you in this endeavor. When the kiddos start coming along your walk, begin lurching towards them (someone should also fall and army crawl, that's always a good one) growling and expressing your general desire for brains. If you want to go above and beyond, you could even make a few quick "coffins" out of scrap wood or pallets and have a couple people pop up out of those for effect. Then, watch the neighborhood kids scream in terror...just don't expect to be popular with the neighborhood parents!

 In case you were wondering, I still haven't decided on a costume, but I will definitely be in costume come Halloween night. Until then, I'll be hopping around reading scary stories on some of the author blogs over at the Coffin Hop, as well as giving away free copies of my own books. For the five days before Halloween, The Superiors will be free on Amazon, so pick it up if you like dark vampire stories (no explicit sex). And if you want to read the second book or third, I'll be giving away copies to Coffin Hoppers exclusively. The first person to comment each day this week will receive a free ecopy of any of my books. Just leave your name and contact info (email, twitter handle, fb, etc) and I'll get you a free copy.

Thanks for hopping in my coffin with me.

Edit: for length and relevance to topic.

Read an Ebook Week

For those unaware, this is Read an Ebook Week. In celebration, Smashwords (if you don't know this site and you read ebooks, get acquainted!) has a huge site-wide sale, with tons of books free and discounted this week. Among those that are free, The Superiors and The Vigilantes. The Renegades, just published on Smashwords yesterday, is half off for the week. Tons and tons of other books are free, and it's free to sign up for an account if you don't have one already. You can download any version on the site--mobi, epub, even pdf. So go explore a bit and find some free books. The coupon codes to get the books free or half off are listed under the 'Buy' button on each book's page.

I'll be posting an ebook review on Wednesday in celebration of Read an Ebook Week.

Hearts on Fire Blog Hop

Hello everyone!

Today I'm happy to be participating in the second annual Hearts on Fire blog hop!


Here’s how to hop…
1.) Kym, Eve, and Victoria have supplied the first nine items on the list of Top Ten Favorite Valentines/Romantic movies and Top Ten Favorite “pick up lines”. YOU provide #10. Comment with your answers and email to enter for the site prize. My site prize is a digital copy of one of my three books (links on right). You choose which book!


2.) Then go to the next hop site on the list below and repeat. 

3.) Don’t forget to go here to also enter the GRAND PRIZE RAFFLE.
(20 carat lab ruby, signed paperback series of Immortals of New Orleans – Kym Grosso, and signed paperback series of Black Swan - Victoria Danann, plus a fabulous SWAG bag from Eve Langlais.)
a Rafflecopter giveaway


TOP TEN FAV VALENTINES/ROMANTIC MOVIES
1. The Princess Bride – Eve (because I love a giggle with my romantic fairy tales)
2. Pretty Woman – Eve (gotta love a poor girl/rich guy flick)
3. Warm Bodies – Eve (Zombies can be sexy, lol)
4. Sabrina - Kym
5. The Proposal – Kym
6. Forgetting Sarah Marshall – Kym
7. A Walk in the Clouds – Victoria
8. The Notebook – Victoria
9. Made in Heaven – Victoria
10. _______________________ What’s yours?


TOP TEN FAV “PICK UP” LINES
1. Eve’s Corny p/u lines: Did you sit in a puddle of maple syrup? Because you have a swe-e-e-t ass.
2. Eve: Do you live in a corn field? Because I’m stalking you.
3. Eve: Your lips look so lonely. Would they like to meet mine?
Note from Eve: Funny how most pickup lines are from guys to girls, and have to do with sex. lol. Then again, can you imagine a woman going up to a guy and saying “Hey gorgeous, I brought along my ten inch ruler because I’ve got a feeling you’ll measure up.” Hehehe.
4. Kym’s Corny p/u lines from movies: “Do you wash your pants in Windex? Because I can see myself in them.” ~Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery,
5. Kym: “You know, it’s dangerous for you to be here in the frozen food section… Because you could melt all this stuff.” ~My Blue Heaven
6. Kym: “I couldn’t help but notice that you look a lot like my next girlfriend.” ~Hitch
7. Victoria’s fav lines that actually worked on me: (The lifeguard.) “You all might as well go home because this storm isn’t going away. (looks at me) Except you. You stay and we’ll go swimming.”
8. Victoria: “Have you seen Jeff?” “Who’s Jeff?” “Who cares? What’s your name?”
9. Victoria: “You’re my pick for student body president. Run and I’ll make sure you get elected.”
10. ___________________ What’s yours?

Thanks for stopping by. Your next stop on the hop is…

 

  Close Encounters for the complete list.

 

 

Get The Renegades Ebook Free

Hey everyone!

If you missed The Renegades Release Party last month, you can get it free this week on Amazon. This is the only week to get it free, as it's an Amazon promo. So head over and grab it while you can! Click on the cover below to link to the Amazon page.

Should You Write What You Know?

Many, if not all, writers have probably heard this advice time and again. It's easy advice to give new writers. After all, it's easiest and most honest in your writing to write what you know. But is that what we should stick to?

I don't have an easy answer to that question. On the one hand, what you are familiar with is going to sound most comfortable. But if all writers stuck to what we knew, there would be no such genres as fantasy and science fiction. Some of the most brilliant works would not have been written. Because we have to write from our imaginations, too. After all, how much did H.G. Wells know about giant aliens, or time travel, or genetic mutations? Maybe something, but since time travel is still theoretical at this point, we have to assume he didn't "know" much about it. How much did Tolkien know about wizards and hobbits? How much did Lovecraft, or Shelley, or King know about... You get the point. On a personal note, I am not a vampire, or a teenager, or a man, or gay. I have never been in an arranged marriage, played basketball, dated a Catholic, or shot up heroin. And yet I have written about all of those things and plenty more that I've never experienced. But parts of me sneak into every character in every novel.

On the other hand, you have authors who write semi-autobiographical novels, and they are just as alive and wonderful, whether they are humorous Jack Gantos novels or disturbing abuse novels. And no matter what you're writing, you've probably had to do at least a teensy tiny bit of research. Even when I'm writing something that is purely from my imagination, I don't think I've ever made it through a book without having to do a little research, whether it's vampire lore or the age cutoffs for statutory rape in each state (ah, the things writers google).

So I guess the best advice I can give is, write what interests you, even if it's not what you know. Write what fascinates you, what you're passionate about, especially if no one else is writing about it. Chances are, someone else is interested in that subject too. Think no one wants to read caveman romances? Auel's readership would disagree. There's a readership for just about anything. If your craft is strong and you are honest in what you write, you don't have to know it, at least not initially. You will write it and research it until you do know it. You will find your plotline and follow it, and when you know that, you're on the right track.

Renegades Release Party winners

Well, I saw some posts up around the web, but no one posted in the comments section, so I'm having a time tracking down my winners. If you posted about the release, please comment below or email me at lenahillbrand@yahoo.com or message me so I can get your prizes out.
For those of you who have already contacted me, your prizes should be on the way.

The Renegades 24-hr Launch Party (Book Giveaway)

Hello loyal readers and guests,

You might be a longtime reader who has been reading my blogs since the days of (ahem) Myspace, or you might have stumbled across this post or been lured by free book promises. Whatever your reason for stopping by my book release party, welcome!

The day has come at last...The Renegades Release Day! You can find the ebook for $2.99 on amazon starting TODAY. Or you can participate in one of the challenges posted on the blog all day to win a free copy.

Here is how it works: I will be giving away 24 books today. Winners will be randomly drawn from the participants of each challenge. They can be completed at any time during the day. Just post a comment letting me know which of the challenges you completed. Winners will be announced Wednesday, December 11, so check back to see if you scored some free books.

Up for grabs:
For all participants: ebook copies of
The Renegades
The Superiors
The Vigilantes
Because the Night, by Kristen Strassel
Redemption by Kellie Thacker
Healer by B.N. Toler
The Legacy: Fate by G.G. Atcheson

For US residents only (sorry, I'm a starving artist and postage rates are insane):
(1) Paperback copy of The Superiors (first edition), (1) Paperback ARC of The Vigilantes (proof copy), (1) Paperback ARC of The Renegades (available in January)
Must have at least 10 entries to win these, one of which MUST be Challenge 1.

Without further ado, here is...

Challenge 1: 
Post an announcement of The Renegades release on your book blog and leave it for 24 hours. Please leave link in the comments section.

Challenge 2:
Follow my blog (or leave comment, if you already follow, for one entry).

Challenge 3:
Stop by this blog and leave a comment on their promo post of The Renegades.

Challenge 4:
Google+ this blog post.

Challenge 5:
Share a link to this post on Twitter...you can do this once an hour if you like...

Challenge 6:
Follow me on Twitter (use the icon on my blog for quickest link).

Challenge 7:
Share this blog post on Facebook... Again, can enter this challenge multiple times if you want.

Challenge 8:
Like my author page on facebook here.

Challenge 9:
Like The Superiors Series page on Facebook.

Challenge 10:
Share my cover on Instagram with the tags #renegades #booklaunch

Challenge 11-13:
Share a link to any of my books on amazon...one entry for each. Click the links below to visit their amazon page, and share from there...pin, FB, twitter, etc.
The Superiors
The Vigilantes
The Renegades

Challenge 14:
Become a fan on amazon.

Challenge 15:
Become a fan on Goodreads.

Challenge 16-18:
Add The Renegades to your to-read shelf on Goodreads. This links to my author page, where you can scroll down and see all my books, and all all three to your shelf easily.
Add The Superiors to your to-read shelf of Goodreads. (If you already have it on your to-read shelf, or you've read it and it's on your read shelf, let me know in the comments section. That's an entry.
Add The Vigilantes to your to-read shelf (same as above).

Challenge 19-20:
Share The Superiors on Barnes&Noble (they have a button to G+, FB like, or pin, or you can 'add to list' if you have a B&N account).
Share The Vigilantes on Barnes&Noble.

Challenge 21-23
Pin The Renegades to a book board on Pinterest
Pin The Superiors
Pin The Vigilantes

Challenge 24: Free Choice challenge...creatively share my book in some way not mentioned above, and post to let me know what you did.

Please let me know what challenges you participated in by posting a comment!

Upcoming Book News

As you all know, I'm getting ready to release my third book, The Renegades. I just got my final cover art back today, and I'm doing my last read-through. I'm never satisfied!

I will post a big giveaway on December 3rd, so make sure you check back then for ebooks and paperback copies of all three of my novels as well as some other vampire novels. I will also have a promo spot over at Bit'N Books, and later, reviews on their site. Please check out their page if you're an author or book reviewer. Here's a bit about them.

Bit'N Book Promoters are a team of passionate, friendly and feisty individuals who are here to help you get your books out there. We're all authors and know how hard it is to get books noticed, so we want to give a helping hand to others like ourselves.
We provide book promotions, reviews, author interviews and kindle freebies. Our blog mainly focuses on reviews and author interviews and detailed book promotions. Both our Twitter and Facebook pages provide book promos, updates and links to what we're doing on our blog. We also regularly post kindle freebies only available on our Facebook page, along with pretty book & film quote boxes, which we design ourselves.
If you'd like our help, you can find us here:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BitnBookPromote
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BITNBOOKPROM...
Blog: http://bitnbookpromoters.blogspot.co.uk/ 

Cover Reveal Wednesday: The Renegades, Book 3 in The Superiors Series

In honor of my favorite holiday (Halloween, of course) here's a bit of shameless self-promotion for my new vamp/horror novel, coming soon. As everyone knows, self-promotion gets old really fast, so I've tried to stay away from that as much as possible. But I'm a writer, so of course I'm going to get excited and want to share my AWESOME NEW BOOK COVER! I just got it back from my cover designer, the brilliant Casey Siegel, and couldn't wait to share it. It still needs a few more tweaks, but here is the preliminary:

I'm super excited about it, and I love it already. The book, The Renegades, is tentatively scheduled for release on December 3.

Read The Superiors free!

Hey all,

I got in on this late, but Smashwords is having their summer sale this month, so for the next week, The Superiors will be free on that site! If you have an ereader, you can download the book for free in any format. Check it out, and all the other great books you can get free this month.

Also, many more books are half off or more, including my second book, The Vigilantes.

Happy reading!

Lena

Hallo-week Book Reviews! Salem's Lot, by Stephen King

Salem's Lot by Stephen King

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I picked up this book off my sister's floor after seeing it lying around for a couple weeks. I had stopped reading Stephen King after Cell, which I read after a long break from Mr. King. When I read Cell, I thought I'd finally outgrown my love of King-style horror, so it had been several years since I'd read anything 'scary.' But I had a free copy of Salem's Lot, one of King's classics that I'd never read. Plus, I'd just finished writing my own vampire series, so I thought I'd try reading a vamp classic.



Well. Turns out I am not too old for Stephen King. This book is the first, last, and only book I can ever remember giving me shivers. The kind where I have to then go check the doors and windows before I go to sleep. I've read tons of King's books, and maybe some scared me, but I don't remember any of them creeping me out this much. This book is just plain creepy.



Parts of it were a little dull and unneccessary, like when I had to read little sections about all the townsfolk who were only in a scene or two. A couple of these little scenes were a little creepy--the guy at the dump who shoots the rats, the woman who avenges her rapist husband--but mostly, I didn't care much about those. I guess some were added to up the creepy factor, like the rats. I know SK has a thing about rats--they are in so many of his books! Mostly, though, I just wanted to get on with the story of the few survivors banding together slowly to take care of the vamps as they took care of the town of Jerusalem's Lot.



The main characters were easy to relate to, especially the kid (isn't there always the kid hero in King's books--a great way to draw sympathy and give plausibility to the monsters) and I loved the old teacher Mr. Burke, and the doctor, and even Father Callahan, although he disappeared a little too quick. Guess I'll have to find him in The Dark Tower books.



I also liked how not everyone survived, and I liked how it followed Dracula pretty closely. It could have done without a few of the character sketches, I thought, but otherwise, a fantastically creepy book!



View all my reviews

Review Wednesday: Nightlight, by Harvard Lampoon

Nightlight: A Parody by The Harvard Lampoon

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This book was funny and clever. But after a few chapters it just got to be too much. Like a friend who makes jokes nonstop, and at first you think he's so funny, but after a while it's just annoying because you can tell he thinks he's just SO clever.



There was a lot of funny stuff in here, though. I especially liked the parts making fun of the whole Twilight phenomenon, not necessarily the plot. Like at one point where she says something like, "It was nothing like I'd ever experienced, but familiar enough that 3 million girls around the world could relate to it."



There were a lot of great one-liners, but after a while it was exhausting. So, cute, but nothing spectacular. I guess reading someone else's plot is boring after a while. I did, however, like the little twist and the ending. Josh was an awesome character, and I liked how the writers used two different characters to make fun of Edward's two sides.



I'd recommend this book to people who like parodies. I'd never read one, but apparently, I don't like them as much as I thought I would.

funny quotes: "I unconditionally, irrevocably, impenetrably, heterogeneously, gynecologically, and disreputably wished he had kissed me."

"I shuddered and smiled coyly, terrified." (p17). "I looked in the mirror. Staring back was a sallow cheeked girl with long, dark hair, pale skin, and dark eyes. Just kidding! That would be so scary." (p8)"

"I breathed. I exhaled. Then I breathed again."



View all my reviews

Book Review: The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I picked up this book because I read Eugenides's other book, Middlesex, last year and enjoyed it very much. I had seen the movie version of "The Virgin Suicides" a long time ago and was not impressed, but I thought I'd give the book a shot.

For the first two thirds of the book, I couldn't decide if I liked it. Eugenides definitely draws you into that obsessive need to know what's going on in the girls lives, the obsession with their tragedy, and the mystery around them. He writes in a detached sort of way, almost journalistic, with very little emotion or color. It took me a while to get used to, but the book is engaging and easy to read, so I kept at it.

I love the intellectual part of Eugenides writing. If he wrote a narrative non-fiction book, I'd buy it without even reading the back. He has a way of putting information together so you learn lots of interesting things without being condescended. I love his 'historical' picture of things. I don't know about the accuracy, but it seems that he's probably researched to get every detail perfect. You get the feeling while reading that you are reading the truth, that you're being taught by an expert. His picture of the suburbian seventies, the neighborhood, the elms, the music, the fish flies, are all genius. I loved that part.

However, about half the book focuses on the promiscuous sister, the only non-virgin among the group. And the boys who watch her (the narrator and his friends) seem increasingly creepy and stalkerish as the book goes on and they get binoculars and stay up all night spying on the girl having sex. It really turned me off, and I was glad the narrator was only a minor character in the book because I really didn't want to know anything about him. Their obsession with the beautiful neighbors seemed harmless at first, but after a while I started wondering if he was going to go rape them or something. It was just too gross and obsessive.

The story of the girls is laid out well, though, through the eyes of one of their creepy, spying neighbor boys. I didn't find much humor in the book, even though the back says it's supposed to be funny. Maybe all the spying on a fourteen-year-old girl having sex with grown men was supposed to be funny, but it left me cold. Also, the book had a 'Flowers in the Attic' kind of feel with the controlling mother shutting her kids away. I didn't understand why someone didn't try to do something to help them. Even the boys, who proclaim to see themselves as grown men and to be in love with the girls, don't talk to their parents about any of this. Everyone just watches and ignores it. I guess it's supposed to be part of the 'suburbia is hell' theme, but... it seemed strange to me.

I probably would have given this book only 2 stars if not for the last fifty pages. Even though the book was told in such a straightforward way that I wasn't even moved by the girls suffering most of the book, I suddenly teared up when the last one dies. I hardly ever cry during books, and it took me completely by surprise. I was nowhere near crying, and suddenly my eyes just blurred over. So I have to give the author credit, because I certainly wasn't sad for the narrator. But the girls were so weird and tragic, and throughout the book, you get a sense that they are trying to reach out and no one is paying attention (probably because they are too busy looking at the girl's asses and trying to see up their skirts). At the end of the book, he says their suicides were selfish, but I think the selfish ones were the narrator and his friends, as well as the parents. It was obvious something was wrong, and no one did anything. Oh, except the boys DID masterbate and collect strands of the girls' hair.

The last fifty pages, which aren't about the boys being creepy little voyeurs, but about the girls and their sad demise, are moving, poignant, and touching. I felt a little bit of the author's views on suicide creeping in at the end, but it didn't affect the ending too much. And as usual, the little peeks of Greek culture shine like gems. Not much of that in this book, but the parts there were lovely. Overall, I was very disappointed by this book, especially as I loved the author's other book so much better, and found it funny, rich, moving, and beautiful in a way this one wasn't.

View all my reviews

Another Blog Interview

Hey everyone,

I have another blog interview out. It's on the website of Ronnie Massey, another new author. Check out her blog, her book, and of course, my interview.

Click here for interview.

Click here to look at my book on amazon.

Click here to look at Ronnie's book on amazon.

Thank you so much Ronnie!

Interview with a Vampire Author

Ha, yeah, I know, that title is super cheese! But anyway, I have exciting news! A wonderful man and blogger, James Oh, has featured me in an interview on his blog! I'm very excited to have my first posted interview up. Click here to check it out! And follow his amazing blog while you're over there. Thank you so much James! I'm honored to be your author interview.

Answering your questions (Promo Friday!)

Hey loyal followers and fellow readers!

Today is my day to promote myself (yay!) Yes, it makes me sound like a hooker, I know.

Anyway, this is short and sweet. There are 3 discussions of my book on Amazon right now, PLEASE participate if you have a second. You do NOT have to have read the book to participate. You might find something interesting, or it might answer a question you already have.

If you'd like to ask the author anything (that's me), I have a thread where I answer questions, just click HERE. You can ask anything.

Here's a thread started by someone who read the book, so it contains spoilers, but if you've read or are reading the book you can answer his questions or make comments or ask questions.

And here's just someone who I think liked the idea.

All you ever-inquisitive minds, check out one of the threads and just say hi or ask a question. I'd really appreciate it!

Okay, no more promoting myself! Thanks to anyone who comments or questions! You guys rock.

Lena

When I give a five-star rating.

Since I've been doing book reviews on here, and will continue to do so occasionally, I thought I'd shed some light on my process. Although it might seem I give extremely high ratings, I don't. However, I only post book reviews for books I love and would recommend. My other, not-so-good book reviews, stay on Goodreads. If you really want to read them, you can. But I'd rather only share and encourage the reading of great books, not talk about the ones I hated.

I hardly ever give 5-star ratings. Maybe my top 10 books of all time, and that's about it. To me, five stars means the book is perfect and I can't think of one thing wrong with it. And that's a hard thing to find!

My criteria (I think): 1. It definitely has to stay with me for a long time, not just what happened but the feeling I got when I read it has to come back, even years later.

2. Also, it has to be well-written. I admit, I'm a book snob. I can hardly read books that aren't well written, even if everyone loves them. Bad writing is a deal breaker, no matter if the writer is #1 Best Seller for ten years in a row. I majored in English and read tons of books on writing, so I can smell bad writing from a mile away. Also, beautiful writing that takes my breath away, gives me goosebumps, makes me shiver, whatever, has to be done in a subtle way, not in-your-face gross-out or steamy love scenes (those are for fun, not 5-stars.)

3. The last thing is, everything has to be vivid. I dont have to love the characters, but I have to believe them and feel I know them. I have to see the setting, the world, the people without being bogged down by flowery paragraph-long description. I have to feel the emotion, smell the smells, hear what they hear, ache when they ache.

It's a tough bill, but I'm a tough reader.

Life According to James Blunt (Music Monday!)

Okay, this is just a silly something I found one time, but I like it!

Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions. Try not to repeat a song title. It's a lot harder than you think! Repost as 'my life according to (band name)'"

Pick Your Artist: James Blunt

Are you a male or female: I’ll be your man

Describe yourself: I’ll Take Everything

How do you feel: Out of my Mind

How do people feel about you: Give me Some Love

Describe where you currently live: I can’t hear the music

If you could go anywhere, where would you go: 1973

What would you ask for if you had just one wish: I Really Want You

What’s your greatest fear? If Time is All I Have

Your favorite form of transportation: Carry You Home

Your best friend? Billy/Annie

You and your best friends are: High

Describe your ex boyfriend/girlfriend/lover: So Far Gone

Describe your current boyfriend/girlfriend/lover: Same Mistake

How do you live: Best Laid Plans

How do you love: Calling out your Name

What's the weather like? Tears and Rain

Favorite time of day: Stay the Night

If your life was a TV show, what would it be called: These are the Words

Now say goodbye: Goodbye My Lover

Contest Results!

Hi all!

My contest for an advanced hardcopy of The Superiors is closing. LittlePinkStars won by a landslide! Please email or message me with your address and I will send you the ARC. I just got them in yesterday.

I've gained many new followers this week, and I've tried to follow everyone back. If I didnt follow you, please comment on this post and I'll follow your blog if you have one. I hope you enjoy my blog and check back now and then. Thanks for following me and I hope you enjoy my blogs!

Lena

E-books outsell "Real" books on Amazon

I heard this morning that for the first time, e-books have outsold paper copies on Amazon. They now sell 105 ebooks per 100 traditional books. Some of these e-books are self-published indies like me, but most are still traditionally published books available through the regular channels and wide distribution.

However, I think all this will be changing. You can get the Kindle App FREE everywhere--smart phones, laptops, e-readers. It's so easy you can get it and buy a book and read it w/o ever leaving your comfy chair. And that's something all Americans love! I, the lover of turning pages and holding and even smelling real books, downloaded the free Kindle app last night to help in promoting my book. The time is near, my dears. I will never give up my hardbacks, but I have succumbed to Kindle fever (which has now surpassed scarlet fever and Beiber Fever as the most recent ailment sweeping the nation).

What this all means is still to be seen. Will traditional ebooks get cheaper to compete with all us shamefully low-priced self-published books? Maybe. Will tons of self-published, poorly written, unedited books get put out in ebook form? Undoubtedly. Will it be harder for readers to find good stuff amidst the slush? For sure. But at least everyone has a shot now, and that's a little more fair than it's been in the past.