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Monday, August 31, 2020

Gubacsi Dulu! #FREE 2 more days ...

 Gubacsi Dulu FREE downloads are doing well!


See? Actually, No.1 in Children's Steampunk, No.2 in Science Fiction, No.3 in Steampunk on Amazon.com!

 Amazon.co.uk...

 

Amazon.com.au...

 

Amazon.ca...

 

and even Amazon.de...

 

So far I've only got 1 review (I hope to get more, and hopefully a few 4 and 5 stars, that would be nice... a 3 star to start is okay, though - better than a 2!)

So, come along, download, read and if you can, review! Join Officer Karina Reif's journey into the unknown!

https://www.amazon.com/Gubacsi-Dulu-Book1-Humanity-English-ebook/dp/B08FTJTYCD


And Book 2 is right on its heels! Radnoti X! Pre-Order is here!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08H3KL9BX

 




Chris the Story Reading Ape + #FREE ebook!

 I have an article on 'Chris the Story Reading Ape's Blog' well worth the read.

"Whatever Happened to Dani J. Caile?"

https://thestoryreadingapeblog.com/2020/08/31/whatever-happened-to-dani-j-caile/

Because this is it. The last big push. 

My latest effort 'Gubacsi Dulu (Humanity H2O Book 1) is #FREE on Amazon right now for a few days. 

PLEASE come and download it, read it and review it. I already have one review - not so flattering but at least the reader says 'Good story line'...

Not perfect but interesting enough to keep me reading. I liked the twists and turns. He managed to keep me guessing!

Yes, it's a 3 star... so PLEASE come download and help me out! It's worth more than 3! Did they even understand the depth?!? ...I can tell you a story about that later...

https://www.amazon.com/Gubacsi-Dulu-Book1-Humanity-English-ebook/dp/B08FTJTYCD



Gubacsi Dulu #FREE for 3 Days

 The day has come! For three days, my latest book, Gubacsi Dulu (Book1 Humanity H2O) is #FREE as an ebook!

Come, download, tell your friends, tell your friends to tell their friends, tell your friends to tell their friends to tell their friends, tell your friends to... you know where this is going...

Read the book. Review the book. Tell everyone how you loved the book. Tell everyone you told how you loved the book to tell everyone how you loved the book and how they should read it too. Tell everyone you told... you know where this is going...

Take it from Karina Reif herself (the real one)...

It Was Mind Blowing! Classy!  I have read many sci-fis, but this was GENIUS!!!! The whole book represents the brilliance of Dani’s fantasy and knowledge! 

https://www.amazon.com/Gubacsi-Dulu-Book1-Humanity-English-ebook/dp/B08FTJTYCD


...book 2 is not far behind... be warned! Pre-Orders will soon be available!

Friday, August 28, 2020

Lisa Nordin - 'Grace Alone' OUT NOW!

Lisa Nordin, a fellow author, has finally published her first book in her new 'The Grace Chronicles' series, 'Grace Alone'!

The blurb (or part of it, to wet your appetite)...

Twenty-five-year-old Grace Phillips is a spirited redhead who believes she can manage her own life without anyone's help. She's learning the ins and outs of her boss's landscaping business while she considers taking it over after he retires. In the meantime, she lives in her own modest apartment while saving for her dream trip to Paris.

Having convinced herself that she is in control of her destiny, Grace is surprised to meet the new guy who just moved to her small Midwestern town of Allenhurst, Wisconsin. A handsome architect, Cole Moretti is five years older than her, eager to settle down, and looking in Grace's direction.

...well, it's a great set-up, but of course, life isn't that simple, is it? This is a great read, and much more than just your usual romance! What, you say? A romance? Yes, a GOOD romance book is good for all sexes, not just women. 

Anything else I could say would be a spoiler! But it's definitely worth the read and I thoroughly recommend it!


Kindle

https://www.amazon.com/Grace-Alone-Chronicles-Book-ebook/dp/B08GQFHHTS

Paperback

https://www.amazon.com/Grace-Alone-Chronicles-Lisa-Nordin/dp/1627874399

10 Day Countdown - 1 day to go! Gubacsi Dulu #FREE

 What can I say? Tomorrow is the start of a three-day #FREE giveaway of 'Gubacsi Dulu' (12AM PST)

In the past 10 days, I've shared a little of the 'how' with you, and now... the why. Why do I keep writing? For sure, it's not for the money (that is a laugh). For sure it's not for the praise (compared to other - as they have described themselves to me - 'less talented' writers, I have very few reviews). For sure it's not for the limelight (who am I?)

Why do I do this? Spending hours upon hours writing? 

Because I love the creation of the word. I love the creation of the sentence. The build up of one idea upon another to create a whole. Creation. A sense of moving forward. Somehow I understand more of myself and those around me, and the world we find ourselves. Without writing, I feel my brain slowly turning to mush.

So, tomorrow, when Amazon finally changes that price to ZERO, come and download the book, read it, and give me an honest review! Enough readers will give me the inspiration to work on the next! And maybe even the next!

And the second is close behind, so I might even do Pre-orders if all goes well! (The first time ever!)

https://www.amazon.com/Gubacsi-Dulu-Book1-Humanity-English-ebook/dp/B08FTJTYCD


10 Day Countdown - 2 days to go! Gubacsi Dulu #FREE

 What now? 2 days to go before Gubacsi Dulu is #FREE!

A large part of my writing style is taken from Ernest Hemingway and his iceberg theory of omission.

Write just enough description to allow the reader to create their own picture of the places and what the characters are wearing by using their own experience, their 'schemata' (knowledge of life and the experiences they have accumulated through their time in reality).

I don't like to 'spoonfeed' the readers, then they become non-thinkers, sponges taking other people's ideas... readers should become free-thinking, to use their imagination to the greatest possibility. Sure, I could tell you what clothes my characters are wearing right down to the number of buttons on their shirts (like Grisham, how I hate Grisham), but I won't. This helps to increase the 'brain-power' of the reader! Really. I guess that's why a lot of writers don't like my style. I don't like to 'dull down' my readers.

However, I do try to give senses and feelings, contrary to what the image below shows (Notice the typo in the image? Experineces... sounds like a disease — may be they...) Readers needs a path to follow, but they are the ones with the torch to see in the darkness. 

https://www.amazon.com/Gubacsi-Dulu-Book1-Humanity-English-ebook/dp/B08FTJTYCD


Thursday, August 27, 2020

10 Day Countdown - 3 days to go! Gubacsi Dulu #FREE

 Ideas.. where do they come from? Life. It's that simple. Life is filled with people who don't know what the hell they are doing. There are those who THINK they know what they are doing and try to control the ones they think who don't know what they are doing, but in fact no one really knows what they are doing.

See? Where did that paragraph come from? Where did that come from? A moment in time. We are only a moment in time. And so is an idea. Catch them. Grow them. Write them down.

I find that once you have one idea, another appears and then another, and another, rather like drawing a tree, with each branch and leaf being a part of the whole, and in the end you have... a tree!... no, well, yes, but if we think about the written word, a book.

https://www.amazon.com/Gubacsi-Dulu-Book1-Humanity-English-ebook/dp/B08FTJTYCD




Wednesday, August 26, 2020

10 Day Countdown - 4 days to go! Gubacsi Dulu #FREE

Movies today... simple 3 step plots, really. 

And so are books. The tension and problems of the main character increases until there is a crisis, and then there is a little reprieve and finally a last climax... with a tail of a resolution. This is exactly what happens in Gubacsi Dulu (and every other book if you look). This is how it's done. But it's the journey and not the destination which are important in life, and in a book. How did the story get there? And as a writer, how did I think of that? 

(Next time: ideas)

https://www.amazon.com/Gubacsi-Dulu-Book1-Humanity-English-ebook/dp/B08FTJTYCD


Tuesday, August 25, 2020

10 Day Countdown - 5 days to go! Gubacsi Dulu #FREE

 Five more days until Gubacsi Dulu is #FREE... 

Today... erm... Yeah, I know! Dialogue!

Don't you just love those books on Amazon, over 200 5 star reviews, you 'Look Inside' to see what the fuss is all about and find either pages and pages of description of the world/characters, what I would call 'info dump', or some of the worst, unreal dialogue you've ever seen in your life. The best is when the characters laugh and you're thinking 'What are they laughing about? No one said anything funny and nothing funny happened... except for the dreadful dialogue.'

Let's try and find an example.... nah, I don't want to embarrass someone who has more reviews (and power) than myself. "If you have nothing good to say, don't say anything at all"... "Trump is a huge POS... it's good to say."

So I've always tried to keep my dialogue as real - and believable - as possible. A little excerpt from Chapter 9...

“A what did what? Are implants a thing now?” Karina couldn’t believe it, didn’t want to. What did they do? What were they good for? Did it hurt?

“For the wealthy. You should read more of the updates we receive from Base.”

“We receive updates from Base?” Even this was news to her.

“You look like shit.”

“Call the kettle black, would ya?”

“Go get some sleep!” Pukanszky pushed her out of the casino and waved her away. “And have a shower, too!”

This kind of thing. Nothing special, just real. That's what I do with dialogue. As you can see, there's even a little bit of 'world-creation' in there, but with no information dump. The reader needs to use their own knowledge and expectations to fill in the gaps with their imagination. What updates? What Base? Apparently Karina looks and smells terrible. That kind of thing. ...you'll find out about implants if you read the book.

...and there's some movement on Amazon.co.uk (Paperback!)... thanks Mum! (LOL) ...no, really... probably... Ha!

204,737 in Books (was approx. 600,000 a few days ago)

#31854 in Literature & Fiction for Children (Books)

#477 in Steam Punk

#4409 in Science Fiction Adventure (Books)

https://www.amazon.com/Gubacsi-Dulu-Book1-Humanity-English-ebook/dp/B08FTJTYCD


Monday, August 24, 2020

10 Day Countdown - 6 days to go! Gubacsi Dulu #FREE

One of the large parts of my books is the message, either hidden or brazenly shoved into the reader's face. (I have a novella which has... anyway, another post).

My messages are usually about blindness... people's stupidity, expectations, prejudices, awareness (lack of it). They're pretty obvious to see.

Are you racist? If I say 'Black Lives Matter' do you instantly stand up and say 'All Lives Matter' or even 'Blues Lives Matter'? 

Black Lives Matter, by the way. Slavery in the USA was merely transformed into second-rate citizenship where those of colour are seen as worthless by White Americans, and the POLICE, no matter which race they are. What is a White American? An immigrant. Why don't they go back to the country THEY came from? At least they went to the USA voluntarily. And they can go back voluntarily.

Anyway, Harvard has some nice Implicit Association Tests you can try...I did, and I have no bias/prejudice...

https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html

So the message in Gubacsi Dulu? Simple, it's prejudice. Against women, mainly. This is the first basic prejudice in society today. Race is the second. Why do women get less pay for the same job, why do women have laws which control the use of their own bodies? It is time for society to change.


https://www.amazon.com/Gubacsi-Dulu-Book1-Humanity-English-ebook/dp/B08FTJTYCD


10 Day Countdown - 7 days to go! Gubacsi Dulu #FREE

 Yep, only 7 days to go until 'Gubacsi Dulu' is #FREE!

Names of characters today.

I've always loved Dickens, and even more after researching nomenclature, the naming of characters to suit their personalities. Here's a little screenshot of one of my essays...

You'll find the whole essay (it's not long) here...

Anyway, so during my writing 'career', I've tried to do the same, naming characters with names that matched their personalities, or gave them 'made-up' names which sounded like them. My first series of four books and most of my writing is like this. Reginald is a great name for someone who rents out a universe, while Graham Reader replaces Grim Reaper. Guido symbolizes the most dull person in the world.

In my 'How to' series (two books... How to Build a Castle in Seven Easy Steps and How to Sink a Ship (in eight long, excruciatingly terrifying, stinkingly evil nights)), I used anagrams of writers I both love - good characters - and loath -  bad characters. Norby, the hero is Byron. The 'good' village is called Wenigyham (Hemingway), while the 'bad' village is Rimshag (Grisham). That kind of thing.

My new sci-fi series is different. I decided to use 'real' names. Names of my students (with their consent), though changed slightly - except for the main character. She was my muse to writing this up due to her complete insanity in completing online weekly assignments. She was the one who wrote forever, made me laugh and gave absolutely genuine and yet crazy answers. Long live Karina! If only all my students were like her.

So, if you'd like to read 'her' journey, pick up the book (or wait for the #free download in 7 days). But PLEASE, whichever it is, leave an honest review!

https://www.amazon.com/Gubacsi-Dulu-Book1-Humanity-English-ebook/dp/B08FTJTYCD




Sunday, August 23, 2020

10 Day Countdown - 8 days to go! Gubacsi Dulu #FREE

 8 days to go until the #FREE ebook promotion of 'Gubacsi Dulu'!

So, what's special about the book? About the whole series?

For myself, many things. The first is that it's all written in one perspective, one point of view (POV), the main character, Karina Reif. I decided early on with this one that there would be no multiple 'heads'.

My first series, a world where the universe is a rental, had multiple POVs. My second series, a world of mud and soup also had mutiple POVs, though only four or five, and if two were in the same 'scene', the most important POV had the 'scene'.

In this new series, only one. Some parts of the story aren't told, the parts the main character doesn't see. It gives the piece a more realistic feel. Or at least one which people can relate to. We all have only one POV, while trying to understand the other's around us.

(Next up: Names)

https://www.amazon.com/Gubacsi-Dulu-Book1-Humanity-H20-ebook/dp/B08FTJTYCD

...different points of view...





Saturday, August 22, 2020

10 Day Countdown... 9 Days to go! Gubacsi Dulu #FREE!

9 more days til the #FREE Ebook Promotion for 'Gubacsi Dulu (Humanity H2O #1).

 Trying to promote this one on all the free sites I can and email lists people will let me on.

https://www.amazon.com/Gubacsi-Dulu-Book1-Humanity-H20-ebook/dp/B08FTJTYCD

I have no idea what's going to happen on the 31st of August... maybe something, maybe nothing, who knows? All I know is that I'm trying...

...and writing Book 2 in the Humanity H2O series... one new line from the book...

A little more of the less, a little less of the more.

I know roughly what will happen... but how...? Even for me that'll be a surprise!

I'm thinking of using this image from NASA as the background for the second... what do you think?





Friday, August 21, 2020

10 Day Countdown! Gubacsi Dulu FREE in 10 days...

 There will be a THREE DAY Free Promotion for Gubacsi Dulu, starting on the 31st of August and ending on the 2nd of September.

Why? Because I'd like to collect some reviews! The story is easy to read and I'm sure you'll all get something from it, perhaps some suspense, some surprises and a little excitement!

So PLEASE put the date into your calenders or wherever you put reminders... 31st of August!

And make sure you tell your friends! The more readers the better... and of course, the more reviews the better!

If you'd like to go see the book on Amazon now, here's the Amazon.com link... 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08FTJTYCD/

And on Amazon.ca... (Canada) where it has some numbers!

Bestsellers rank #160,468 in Kindle Store 

#319 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store)

#2,647 in Science Fiction Adventure

#4,802 in Adventure Science Fiction (Books)

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B08FTJTYCD/

The Paperback also has some numbers on Amazon.co.uk!

#620,128 in Books 

#79855 in Literature & Fiction for Children (Books)

#1324 in Steam Punk

#10831 in Science Fiction Adventure (Books)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gubacsi-Dulu-Book1-Humanity-H20/dp/1093922796


Wednesday, August 19, 2020

Yet another Antivárium treasure!

I'm not big on poetry but if I find something special, I need to get it and read it.
So I picked up this great collection of poems from 'the beginning of time' til... 1891. And it was cheap. 
I thoroughly recommend antiváriums! They even have Dryden in there!

...and there really are 1001! All gems... well, I haven't read them all but they do have John Milton in there and also the Bard (of course, he's got pages and pages).

There's this nice picture inside the front, too, for when some of these 'gems' get a little too much...









 


Tuesday, August 18, 2020

A Canadian Reader! 😀

I really don't know how it works, but there's this thing on Amazon where subscribers to their site can read books. For myself this thing is called KENP Read and it's counted in the number of pages subscribers read. A lot of Amazon authors make a lot of money on this if 1000s of pages are read. Me, well, I've made a few cents... BUT it's not the money, it's the readers that count for me!

So, I'd like to thank whoever the Canadian reader is who read my latest book. Maybe they could even review it later? That would be so nice.



Thursday, August 13, 2020

Humanity H2O - Book 1: Gubacsi Dulu... OUT NOW!

 Finally after many months of rejections... Gubacsi Dulu is PUBLISHED! Yes!

This is the first book in a new Sci-fi series and I'm already working on Book 3 and finishing off Book 2! This first book sets up the situation and starts the ball rolling. I don't want to give it all... so I won't. The story is written in one POV, that of a Police Officer, Karina Reif and her experiences after being left at Base when a case appears.

Paperback... (for those who love the smell and feel of the 'real' thing)

https://www.amazon.com/Gubacsi-Dulu-Book1-Humanity-H20/dp/1093922796/

Ebook/Kindle...(for those on the bus...)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08FTJTYCD/


Tuesday, August 11, 2020

A SALE! ...and some Downloads...

 Yes! A sale!

I hope I get a review as well! Any sign of life out there is a good thing... and few downloads of Blue Haze, a futuristic look from the perspective of a young boy... 

...and talking about futuristic life...

My new series is coming VERY soon... 

Humanity H20... Book 1: Gubacsi Dulu! (YA/Sci-fi)

Here's the blurb...

2357 AD. Officer Karina Reif wants to start afresh. Or does she? A ‘John Doe’ appears in the depths of her jurisdiction, an AxiCorp water extraction installation on Gubacsi Dulu, thousands of light years from Earth, and breaks apart the fragile façade of her life. What will she do with the secrets she finds? 

And here's the NEW cover by Miksa Szőnyi!



Friday, August 7, 2020

'All For Love' Happening Now!

 It seems my novella 'All For Love' is starting to catch the attention of a few readers, which can only be a good thing!

I'd like to say a few words about that little story, but I think if you read it, it would say a lot more than I ever could. It's about... and... it also has... and it also gives... and it takes its inspiration from...

Yes, you see, I think you should read it. You should get something out of it... really!

It's also gone through a few cover changes. At first I found a publisher who gave it a few good covers, then after a lot of inactivity with that publisher, I took it back on and self-published it, changing the cover a few times, until I now have the one that's on Smashwords.

Let's see if I can find a few... the girl on the original covers is an ex-student of mine whose image gave me the idea to delve into 'beauty' as a muse. Yes, the third cover image here is the worst, but it's also the one set nowadays. Minimalist at best.

So, click on the link above and find out why people are downloading it!

Thanks! Until next time...


Thursday, August 6, 2020

Going Strong! "The Upworld" by Lindsey S. Frantz

A fellow author among the Line by Lion Publications group is getting serious!
With 'The Hidden Worlds Anthology Series', short stories and poems published, Lindsey S. Frantz's novel 'The Upworld' is doing well. With 40 reviews on Amazon, it has an average of 4.7 stars out of 5, so her novel seems to be hitting those YA reader strings hard! And it's the first in a series, so there are a lot of people waiting for the sequel.
Here are some splashes from those reviews...
"The mark of a good story is one that can draw you in and captivate you. The Upworld definitely hits that mark."
"This book grabbed my attention so quickly and made it so hard to put down."
"I absolutely loved the way this story developed from a seemingly innocent, budding romance to an intense, spell-binding, action packed tale. Frantz does a wonderful job of pulling the reader in and leaving them wanting more."

What I really like about Lindsey is that she's a mother and a teacher, and it comes through in her writing — which can only be a good thing! 
Literature for me is a combination of both entertainment and 'message'.

So if you're into YA, you can't go wrong with 'The Upworld'!
Get it here!

AND if you want to know more about what's going on with Lindsey and her books, including the sequel to 'The Upworld', you can subscribe to her newsletter here at her website.

She's also up on Instagram, so give her a look

PS: Maybe I'll have some good news of my own soon. Keep you posted!


FREE Short stories AND Book 2 of 'Humanity H2O' coming along...

 Yes, if you didn't already know, I have a NEW collection of short stories that help you pass away those times while you wait in the much-longer queues with your mask on.

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1028761

Okay, the cover isn't so great, there wasn't much of a choice in the 'free' section, though the photo is a picture of this wonderful tree I passed by on a beautiful walk in the hills. But the stories! They're... great! Well, I have to say that. I wrote them. Who else is going to praise my literary work? "Your story is good but it doesn't fit what we require right now." That's about the best I get nowadays.

So, still waiting on a new cover for 'Humanity H2O' Book 1: Gubacsi Dulu' — looks like I'm self-publishing... almost a decade, helping others with their work and still self-publishing... so word-of-mouth and very few sales in the future. Maybe someone will read this sci-fi series. I'm also working on Book 2: Radnoti X, a continuation of the story, though only have 10+k words at the moment.

Wednesday, August 5, 2020

Review: Lockout 2012 - Trending on Netflix

I don't usually do reviews, but hey, why not...
I've always liked Guy Pearce as an actor, I remember first seeing him on the Aussie soap series 'Neighbours' and watched him get into the film scene. Not one bad one among them, really. 'Memento' is probably the film that set him up for life. If you haven't seen it, then it's time...
Anyway, apparently, right now 'Lockout' from 2012 is trending, creeping up into the Top 10 films on Netflix. I never watched it - didn't know about it, so I watched it.
I can see why it's in the Top 10 at the moment. Pearce plays a lovable rogue anti-hero who gets involved in saving the President's daughter from an orbiting prison. It has the 'Escape from LA' feeling with slightly better dialogue for the hero, and also tougher conditions. Not much of a plot and runs quite fast, with cardboard characters around the four or five main ones, but the important thing is, it's good entertainment, and in these times, that's what we need. A bit of gung-ho, too, with even a reference to John Wayne, the hero being named after the old Western star and if you notice, the hero has that kind of John Wayne swagger about him.
All in all, it's not a big brainer but it's definitely good popcorn material. 


Sunday, August 2, 2020

Ban the Electoral College Vote!

I'm not an expert but a vote originally based on the number of slaves each state had back in the 18th/19th century just has to be banned.
When it was first introduced, the Electoral College vote allowed THE WHITE PEOPLE in each US state to have an equal influence in voting by taking into account how many slaves each state had - added to this that these slaves didn't have the right to vote AND that each slave was consider 2/5s a vote, ie. 2/5s of a 'REAL'/WHITE person.
"All men are created equal" - unless you're NOT WHITE.
Of course, a lot of regulations and changes to the Electoral College vote has happened since then, but basically this has all been to try and DISGUISE THE RACISM IN THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION.
(Sorry about the Capitals there, but somehow this has to be shouted out)
From Wiki itself, here are the reasons why the Electoral College vote is good for the USA:

"Supporters of the Electoral College argue that it is fundamental to American federalism, that it requires candidates to appeal to voters outside large cities, increases the political influence of small states, preserves the two-party system, and makes the electoral outcome appear more legitimate than that of a nationwide popular vote."

Bullshit. All that I understand from this is that the racist white people can keep their white supremacist power if the Electoral College Vote is used.

Direct voting or nothing. 
Ban the Electoral College Vote based on racism.
One person, one vote. 
And of course, Mail-in voting works!
(There are other countries with voting problems, too... later)