The Next Big Thing Blog Hop

THE NEXT BIG THING BLOG HOP

Thanks to @Branli on twitter or http://branlicaidryn.com/blog for the invite to the hop! Please take a moment to look back at his Q+A session about Phoenix Splinter!

There are the books everyone has heard about: Twilight, Hunger Games, Fifty Shades of Gray. But there are soooo many more books out there just waiting to be discovered. And that’s what this blog hop is all about.

This blog hop is like a game of tag. One author posts and tags a few other authors who link back to their website the next week and tag five new authors. If you follow the blog hop long enough, you’re bound to find some books you’ll love! Maybe you’ll even discover a book that ends up being the next big thing.

So with no further delays...here you go!

1: What is the title of your book?

     The Event!

2: Where did the idea come from for the book?

     Actually, I fell in love with Will Smiths movie I am Legend, and wanted to test the waters with my own post apocalyptic work. Hence, The Event.

3: What genre does your book fall under?

     Most people think of it as Dystopian, however I run it right down the middle of a Fantasy/Fiction line.

4: Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

     Tough one. I think I would have to leave that to others to decide. My characters are themselves. I made a point while writing to not base them on any specific person.

5: What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

     Can evil ever truly be destroyed, or does it merely transform.

6: Who is your publisher?

    That would be me. I am an Indie publisher, however, should anyone wish to pick me up for traditional publishing, I wouldn't complain.

7: How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

     It was just over a year in total. It has taken another year to polish it while working on (too many) new titles.

8: What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

     I have honestly never seen a work like mine. It crosses many conventional boundaries. However, my work has been compared to that of Tad Williams.

9: Who or What inspired you to write this book?

     You could blame the video game industry. I just got tired of playing games and decided that I could try using my computer for something more constructive. An hour or so later, and the start of a first chapter, my wife looked at me and said. "Wow, you can write!" So I decided to keep working on it.

10: What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

     Action. I write like I want to watch movies. It's okay to have scenes that are a touch slow, but you need to follow it up with something unexpected, different, sometimes even odd. If you are too slow, people will put your work down and never pick it up again.

Ready for next weeks authors? Here you go! Please take a moment to check out their pages as well.

First we have http://www.amylaurens.com/ aka Amy Laurens (tough to deduce I know!) whom I have known for quite a while now. She has always been supportive of my works as well as many others.

Next we have http://wjsmithblog.blogspot.ca/ aka Wendy Jane Smith. I met this talented writer via twitter and she has worked with me on many of my prior books and shorts. You would do yourself a service to check out her blog, as well as her writing!

Contest is live!

Yes! It took a while, but the contest at Crockett's Books here in Trail B.C. is now live!

Rules?

Simple! Go in, buy a book, and write your name and phone number on the back of your receipt. Drop that in the lovely gift wrapped box, and you are entered.
It can't be any easier.
This contest is running from now, until December 27th, when the winner will be drawn at random. So what can you win in this basket? Well...let's take a look shall we!

 

With an estimated value of about $150 you really can't go wrong with this prize. Almost all the books/comics were donated. The little envelope on the front is a $50 gift card. So even if you don't like a single work inside this basket, you can buy something else in the store you do like...but take a look at that book dead centre. Zombies...cmon, can you really go wrong with a zombie book?

Please take a minute to share this, let's get some traffic going into our only local book store!

December Contest, and Free stuff!

So, as of late, I have been bloging mostly about the move, my family, spiders...you know, personal stuff. Well, perhaps it's time to get back to the writing blog for a single hit.

And here you have it.

December is the month for the re-release of 'The Event'.

Yes, this time with (hopefully) a bigger bang, more for your buck and a contest with actual prizes.

The idea is, I have enlisted our local book stores help and he has agreed, even though my work is currently only available via ebook, to help with some promotion. (With luck I will have a paperback available too, however I don't want to say that, just it case it is late)

So, with a little help from the community, namely, YOU, I will be doing a free giveaway of my short stories, and a contest, with prizes, during the week of Christmas. So here is the best part...

Have a copy of your e-book, real book, book marks, sweaters, knitted socks, anything you want to donate as a prize? Let me know and I will do my best to get it together before Dec 20th. This is when the whole thing is going to go viral.

It also happens to be my Mothers birthday :-)

So let me know in a personal note, an email, or here in the comments, and let me help you get some facetime!
Let's get the word out that -The Event- is bigger, and badder than ever!

Basement of DOOM or where I have been for two months.

 Are we there yet?

Well, no, but the good news is, I have a computer, and a desk, and a chair. It's a start.

Just over two months ago we moved, for those of you who don't know, and to say that in the time since it has been chaos around here...would be an understatement.

However! Never fear! Things are coming together. The basement that was almost completely unfinished, not counting the sixty year old carpet, has a brand new, fresh, clean, and spider free, finish. The TV is now mounted and the kids game systems (my game systems, but kids sounds better) has been hooked up and is functioning. The home schooling computers, and my writing machine, are set up in their own space, along with the treadmill. Pictures are getting closer to being hung, everything is looking more and more like it's time to start writing again.

I even sat down with full intent to open up the first chapter of 'The Event' and do a small re-write of the opening that has been rolling around in my head for over a week now...hmn, with that in mind...I have a file to open up!

I leave you all with some pictures of the before, and after, of our basement.

Feel free to ignore the orange couch...it is almost as old as I am, but still too comfortable to throw away...perhaps one day soon I will be able to buy our family a new one...perhaps.