'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...

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.

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...

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0209144/

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. 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1592525/

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)

Whoops! New Novel on Amazon for a second!

Yesterday while playing with the 'keywords' in Amazon's KDP, I accidentally hit 'Publish'!

There's no way to cancel this action, which I find strange. You have to wait until the book becomes 'LIVE' and then immediately 'Unpublish'.

Problem is, the book is then on Amazon but 'unavailable'. 

It was once... invisible to the world and now it is visible... with the wrong cover. I'm waiting on a new version of the cover from a friend of an acquaintance.

I've given up on the last submission. Another acquaintance said they'd give me a 'shout out' through their email system, so hopefully that's still on. 

All I need is some readers, some recognition, some people who see there's some worth in all this...

Anyway...Book coming soon!

New Novel Rejections

Although my writing has been described in many ways as a mix of both Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, no one wants my latest...
Four Rejections so far...

"While I did enjoy some of your worldbuilding details... overall the story does not match up well with the other stories I am publishing. There is a lot of imagination here, but it is just not what I am looking for right now."

"I'm sorry it didn't strike me as quite suitable to our present needs."

"We're not publishing new authors at this moment..."

[...silence...]

To think you can write a book and get it published by someone is a bit of a dream.

Publishers already have their next publishable book in mind and get people to write them. If you write a book, they don't want to know.

You can get lucky, like JK Rowling — the story: an enthusiastic reader of a literary agency gets her represented, she is rejected by 12 publishing houses, and is only taken on by Bloomsbury because the chairman's eight-year-old daughter demanded to read more, and even then she is told to get a day job. The rest is history.

That kind of success is rare and a writer's dream. 

I don't need that dream, I just need a little recognition. 

"Who? Oh, him... didn't he write...? Yeah, I liked that." 

That kind of thing.

Dani's Shorts 8+ is still FREE (like forever)...   https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1028761