"Toby and Harry" in Thirteen Stories by Us

A group of authors, most of whom became acquainted through the Accentuate Writers' Forum, banded together to create an anthology of suspense/horror stories for Halloween. All stories were donated, with all the proceeds going to help two author friends who are having some really difficult financial times.

The idea was conceived by Melissa Dawn Ingham, and the volume edited by Catherine A. MacKenzie. It's entitled Thirteen Stories By Us. Not surprisingly, it contains thirteen stories! Twelve are meant to send a shiver or two down your spine, and the other is a quirky love story.

My story, "Toby and Harry," is included. I'm really happy to see it in this grouping. I intended it to be a subtle horror story, but perhaps it was too subtle to stand on its own. Some people have mistaken the genre and ended up really confused about what I was trying to say. All I was trying to do was be a little scary! So this is a perfect fit.

For a longer review of the stories in the volume, see Review of Thirteen Stories by Us.

The book is available in paperback or e-book, at Smashwords or Amazon.

Paperback Versions of Anastasia Raven Mysteries

All four Anastasia Raven mysteries are now available in three volumes as paperbacks! I gave in to the Amazon giant and did this through CreateSpace which was quite easy to use, actually.

Although I've had good sales with the e-books it all seems more real with physical copies in my hands!

For a limited time you can get all three for only $30, plus $4 media mail shipping to US addresses. This is a savings of $3 off the cover price, and if you are in Michigan, I'm even paying your tax for you (an additional $1.80 savings). These will be signed copies. This offer will be good until November 1, 2014.

Email me, or tell me in a comment that you are interested.

Would You Dare?

In 1986, I wrote a book of short biographies of twelve outstanding Christians, targeted for young people. Most recently, I'd been printing these on my computer and fastening them with a comb binding.

Thanks to Print On Demand, I'm working on formatting these into a paperback, which will look much better, and still be very reasonably priced. It's taking quite a bit of work to get the format correct, but I should have these books ready in time for Authorpalooza in Big Rapids on November 8.

Blog Talk Radio with Dellani Oakes

I was featured on Red River Radio, Dellani Oakes Tea Time, on April 14, 2014. Other guests were Debra Ann Fisk and JoMarie DeGioia, who both write romance and romantic suspense. Co-host was Karen Vaughn.

There are a number of interesting questions about the writing process posed to each of us, and we also each read an excerpt from one of our books.

If you want to hear part of News from Dead Mule Swamp, read by me, just listen in, and it begins at minute 43.

Read an E-book Week at Smashwords

For one week, hundreds of books at Smashwords and other retailers are discounted or free. They offer all the popular formats, plus pdf, rtf, and in-browser options.

The idea was launched in 2004 by "Rita Toews, 61, a soft-spoken mother of two and grandmother of one, who sits at the center of the ebook universe for this week.

"Operating from a spare bedroom in her home in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada with her cat Lola by her side ("Every author needs a cat," she says), Ms. Toews is the creator and chief ringmaster of Read an Ebook Week, an annual international celebration of ebooks that kicks off its seventh season this Sunday March 7.

"Read an Ebook Week brings together ebook retailers, publishers, authors, device-makers and untold thousands of readers who join in this international literary event of ebook discovery, and yes, gluttony.

"Since the event takes place in cyberspace the only measure I have of its success is the traffic on the Read an E-Book Week website, which grows each year. Occasionally a participant will contact me and say - "I had over 2,500 visits on my website during Read an Ebook Week." That's nice to hear.

"For this one week only, publishers and authors offer thousands of original ebooks for free and at deep discounts to encourage book lovers around the globe to give ebooks a try."

Visit the official Facebook page

Two of my books are discounted for this week. See Joan H. Young Author page

[some text taken from interview with Rita Toews by Mark Coker at the Huffington Post]

Bury the Hatchet in Dead Mule Swamp- Available!

Bury the Hatchet in Dead Mule Swamp is book four of the Anastasia Raven mysteries. Here's the blurb:

Anastasia Raven opens a box containing a bloody hatchet, apparently sent as some sort of warning to her friend Cora and Cora’s ex-husband. When a hacked-up body is discovered in the Petite Sauble River at the small village of Jalmari, everyone is stunned at the victim’s identity. Continued puzzling discoveries just don’t add up. Ana discovers herself agreeing to participate in a zany conspiracy with a tall and handsome man.

The ebook is available for purchase now, only $2.99- less than a good cup of coffee!
Smashwords
Amazon
Barnes and Noble

How to Write a Book Review

This is just going to be my take on how to help authors you like sell more books. This is not going to tell you how to write a thousand-word analysis for your English class.

Why should you do this? Books with a number of reviews have clearly been read. Whether people liked them or hated them, a group of reviews is an indication of sales. And people love to associate with winners.

1. WRITE A REVIEW Point one- people aren't going to know what you think unless you do write one.

2. SHORT IS FINE Your book review does not have to be long. You don't have to spend an hour of time and agonize over every word.

3. WRITE IT SOON If you review a book within a few days of reading it you're more likely to remember what you thought and felt, which parts moved you, and which parts didn't.

4. BE HONEST Don't give a four-star book five stars. If you look at popular authors, not all of their books will have five stars, not even most of them. A good solid four-point-something stars is wonderful. Personally, I wish the systems had ten start, or half stars. I like to keep five for the best of the best, but a number of books could easily be 4.5.

5. COMPARE WITH LIKE WORKS Don't knock a thriller because it's not literary fiction, or a cozy mystery because it's not complex intrigue. For example, I read a review of a book today that gave it only one star because it was formulaic woman-in-jeopardy. Well, that was the genre. Of course it was going to have that scenario.

6. GIVE YOUR REACTIONS You don't need to do a complete synopsis of the plot, and don't include spoilers. Do tell how the book made you feel.

7. NOTE WRITING QUALITY Did the author develop the characters? Did you feel as if you knew these people? Was there good detail? Was it believable? Of course, there may need to be some acceptance of twists of fate, lots of murders surrounding one person (if the book is in a series), etc. It is fiction, after all, not journalism. Unless it's non-fiction... in which case, you want honesty, engaging telling of the story, good backstory, etc.

So, support your favorite starving artist, or even a successful, well-paid author. We never get tired of hearing what people think.