Small Business Saturday meets CyberMonday!
For end of year holiday shopping, no day is more celebrated than Black Friday and its opulent pre-dawn sales. Then comes Small Business Saturday when our shopping attention is supposed to go to the smaller mom-and-pop stores. Of course, nobody has a smaller business than an independent author who dreams, writes, researches, revises, edits and proofreads, and may get some help with editing and cover art. Finally on the weekend of retail madness comes CyberMonday, the day when everyone who didn't find what they were looking for goes online when they are back to work, more often than not searching for a good book to read or to give to the readers in their families.This is where I come in. I've never been big on marketing, despite actually passing two courses in college. Granted, I mostly wrote advertising copy for those classes but it did help me get a job at a local TV station. People do not seem to like marketing - or promotion, as it is often referred to in the book world - beyond a few commercials during Super Bowl Sunday. A brief mention of the existence of a product or service is all many of us require. Social media platforms may be the worst. I often must sit through 6 ads to watch even a 3 minute video on YouTube. And scrolling down my Twitter feed is like leafing through a department store catalogue rather than my followers' clever posts.
I've written before on judging books by their covers but, for me, the cover draws me to the shelf, gets me to pick up the book, and then comes the real judging. I flip that book over and read what it is about - the blurb. I don't need to know what other authors thought of it, even famous authors. I don't need to know what awards it won. Just tell me what happens. I may open to the first page of the story and read a little to get a sense of the voice and the style. I may turn to a middle page (the Amazon "surprise me" feature) or skip to the end. If it is non-fiction, I study the table of contents, sometimes the index. If the story seems compelling, the narrator interesting (either it is the author or a character doing the telling), and the setting may be out of the ordinary or appropriate for the story, I'll take chance on it.
So now we come to the holiday gift giving season and it is important to note that books are one of the easiest gifts to give - often a 1-click purchase and instant electronic delivery or on its way via a delivery service. A book is also one of the more valuable gifts anyone would be thrilled to receive. I know this from personal, first-hand experience. The only real issue is to match the genre to the reader. Therefore, it is my duty to inform you that I write in a variety of genre so there is a book for nearly everyone. And on that note, allow me to share my collection with you for your holiday reading and gift consideration.
Teaser:
A boy and his mom and her tuba try to flee the chaos of a world-wide pandemic.
Sound familiar? We've been there. But everything has returned to normal for most of us.
Yet what if it didn't? What if the worst of the past couple years is now in its sixth year... with no end in sight?
What would you do? How would you get by? Where would you go to survive?
No, wait! There are other books!
Scroll backward in time - by publication date - and check out the following novels with links to ebook and print versions.
Scroll backward in time - by publication date - and check out the following novels with links to ebook and print versions.
THE MASTERS' RIDDLE (July 2021)
[sci-fi]
Toog is a simple gardener living with a full-mate and a springling on a planet called Sebbol. Until one night The Masters arrive and capture him, taking him back to their world.
YEAR OF THE TIGER (November 2020)
[action/adventure]
Every night Karl Edwards has strange, violent dreams. He sees the world as though he's looking through the eyes of a Bengal tiger and it's driving him insane. Fortunately, his sexy wife knows a hunky doctor who can help her have Karl committed, that is.
Locked up, the nightmares worsen as the tiger hunts down the men who killed its mate. Karl has a plan, however. All he has to do is persuade Althea, a young nurse, to help him escape. Next, he must get to India. Then he must find that one tiger and kill it. Only then will he have the mind they seem to share all to himself.
But others are also interested in joining the hunt. The doctor who put Karl in the mental hospital, fearing Karl will reveal his crimes. And famous big game hunter Colonel John Barrington will come out of retirement, with worldwide media in tow, for one last chance at a man-eating tiger!
(You can read a lovely review here.)
[sci-fi]
Awaking in a cold, dark cell, Toog fears he will never see his family again. Communicating with other prisoners he learns that The Masters have visited many worlds and brought many different beings back for their laboratory or their work camps. But why? Toog wonders as he vows to escape.
But even if he can get out of the prison or escape a work camp how can he ever hope to return to his world - before his family is long gone and his planet ravaged by time.
Perhaps his hardship is his destiny and serves a bigger purpose. Is that the Masters' Riddle? Only if he can solve the riddle can he go home.
YEAR OF THE TIGER (November 2020)
[action/adventure]
Locked up, the nightmares worsen as the tiger hunts down the men who killed its mate. Karl has a plan, however. All he has to do is persuade Althea, a young nurse, to help him escape. Next, he must get to India. Then he must find that one tiger and kill it. Only then will he have the mind they seem to share all to himself.
But others are also interested in joining the hunt. The doctor who put Karl in the mental hospital, fearing Karl will reveal his crimes. And famous big game hunter Colonel John Barrington will come out of retirement, with worldwide media in tow, for one last chance at a man-eating tiger!
(You can read a lovely review here.)
EXCHANGE (May 2020)
[contemporary crime drama]
An Unspeakable Crime.
High school teacher Bill Masters and his family have a comfortable life in suburban Oklahoma City - until his wife and teen daughter are killed in a mass shooting.
Overwhelmed with grief, Bill struggles to put his life backtogether - or construct a new life from what remains - even as he must combat continuing crime that threatens him and his home.
A Second Chance.
When exchange student Wu Ting "Wendy" Wang arrives from China for her year at an American high school, she has no idea what has just happened to her host family.
She's a constant reminder to Bill of why his family is gone. Yet he is determined to protect her at any cost - ready to use his father's gun. And he will not fail this time.
SUNSET (February 2019)
Book III of the Stefan Szekely, Vampire trilogy
Midnight 31 December 2099.
As the Empire of Europa celebrates the new centennial with battle lines in Ukraine and preparations underway for invading England, the Emperor in His capital of Budapest welcomes His guests, the elite of vampire society.
Yet all is not well in the empire. Different factions agree the time has come for new leadership. As rabid mobs protest and attack palace guards, Emperor Stefan and his closest staff huddle in the imperial suite, awaiting rescue.
But how do you get away from the clutches of the supreme demon who lives forever and exists everywhere? If Stefan can free himself, the world may yet be saved. If he fails, the destruction will continue...until the Anglo-American Union falls and vampire society rules the world.
Book II of the Stefan Szekely, Vampire trilogy
For Stefan Székely it is a fate worse than death: To be dead yet stuck with his dead parents.
After 13 years Stefan can endure it no longer. He wants a castle of his own. But first he must visit his family’s bank in Budapest.
With endless strife rumbling across Europe, Stefan hardly recognizes Budapest, now capital of the Hungarian Federation. The world has changed. Nevertheless, he embarks on the reign of terror he always denied himself, living the vampire playboy lifestyle. Until he gets a stern warning from the local vampire gang. He is not welcome - unless he plays by their rules.
Should Stefan fight for his right to party like it's 2027? Or will an encounter with a dangerous stranger change everything about his new existence? As clashes between vampire gangs and State Security escalate, Stefan just might be the key to changing the fate of Europe forever!
. . . If he can survive three bloody nights in Budapest.
The sequel to A DRY PATCH of SKIN continues the trials and tribulations of Stefan Székely, Vampire.
EPIC FANTASY *WITH DRAGONS (March 2017)
[epic fantasy!]
CORLAN, MASTER DRAGONSLAYER, the best in the Guild, the best in the Burg!
And yet, returning from his latest expedition, Corlan discovers jealous rivals have conspired with the Prince to banish him from the city.
Sent into the Valley of Death, Corlan conjures a plan. He and his new sidekick, a runaway boy from the palace kitchen, will trek the thousand miles to the far end of the valley, where a vast marsh provides nesting grounds for the dragon horde. Once there, Corlan vows to smash dragon eggs and lance younglings, ending dragon terror once and for all time.And yet, as dangers, distractions, and detours harry him along the way, Corlan learns ancient secrets that threaten to destroy everything in his world. Even with the aid of wizards and warriors, he must use all his guile, his bravado, and the force of his stubborn will just to survive - and perhaps return home - no matter how the gods challenge him with their harshest tests.
A GIRL CALLED WOLF (December 2015)
[action/adventure]
Ice and snow are all 12 year old Anuka knows outside the hut in Greenland where she was born.
When her mama dies, Anuka struggles to survive. The harsh winter forces her to finally journey across the frozen island to the village her mama always feared.
But the people of the village don’t know what to do with this girl. They try to educate and bring her into the modern world, but Anuka won't make it easy for them. She sees dangers at every turn and every day hears her fate echoing in her mama’s voice.
Her mama gave her that name for a reason. She is A GIRL CALLED WOLF who searches for the place where she belongs, a destination always just out of reach, on a path she will always make her own.
AIKO (May 2015)
[mystery/romance]
When the handwritten letter from Japan arrives, Benjamin cannot help but flash back to when he lived in Hawaii and met Hanako, a Japanese stewardess.
But Addy, Benjamin’s wife of three years, knows what the letter really means: a love child was born.
Now Benjamin must save a child he has never met, learn the truth behind Hanako’s death, and risk his marriage and his career to do the right thing. But venturing into the lonely woods of northern Ishikawa throws him into an ancient world of strict customs and tight-lipped villagers.
AIKO, a love story wrapped around a mystery, is a modern version of the Madame Butterfly story told from his side.
(You can read a review here.)
A DRY PATCH OF SKIN (October 2014)
(the only medically accurate vampire novel)
Book I of the Stefan Szekely, Vampire trilogy
The truth about being a vampire: It is not cool, not sexy. It’s a painful, miserable existence.
Good reason to avoid that situation, thinks medical technician Stefan Székely. He's too busy falling in love with TV reporter Penny Park, anyway. Until one day when she notices a dry patch of skin on his face.
At first it's just annoying, nothing to worry about, some weird skin disease he can treat with lotions. However, as his affliction worsens, Stefan fears that his unsightly problem will ruin his relationship with Penny.
If only that was all Stefan has to worry about! He soon realizes there is a lot more at stake than his handsome face. To save himself, Stefan must go in search of a cure for the disease which is literally destroying him inch by inch. If only his parents had told him of the family legacy.
A BEAUTIFUL CHILL (February 2014)
[campus anti-romance]
Opposites may attract... but can they stay together?
Íris is a refugee from an abusive youth in Iceland, further abused on the streets of Toronto - until she sees Art as an escape. With a scholarship, she drifts from depression to nightmare to Wiccan rituals to the next exhibit. There's a lot she must forget to succeed in a life she refuses to take responsibility for.
Eric is settling in at Fairmont College, starting a new life after betrayal and heartbreak. Divorced and hitting forty, he has a lot to prove - to his father, his colleagues, and mostly to himself. The last thing he needs is a distraction - and there's nothing more distracting than Íris.
A Beautiful Chill is a contemporary romance set in the duplicitous world of academic rules and artistic license - in a roundabout way a prequel to A Girl Called Wolf.
(You can read a review here.)
AFTER ILIUM (October 2012)
[action/adventure/age-gap romance]
Troy! Ilium! 3000 years ago Greeks and Trojans battled below the fortress city.
Now comes Alex Parris in 1993, freshly graduated and eager to tour the ancient site. On his cruise to Istanbul, however, he meets Eléna, a mysterious older woman who draws him into an affair.
When the two lovers challenge Fate by visiting the ruins of Ilium, they are rudely separated – forcing Alex to embark on his own Odyssey. His struggle to return to Eléna becomes a fight for survival on the wild Turkish coast.
THE DREAM LAND Trilogy (2012-2013)
[sci-fi, steampunk, interdimensional doorways, teenage know-it-alls, world-ruining, political intrigue, time travel, battle hamsters & magic potions]
Book I Long Distance Voyager (December 2012)
Book II Dreams of Future's Past (June 2013)
Book III Diaspora (December 2013)
How far would you go to save the love of your life? Through a portal to another world?
High school sweethearts Sebastian and Gina discover a doorway to a new world. Adventure-loving Gina falls in love with the world of Ghoupallesz and wants to stay, but studious Sebastian fears losing touch with Earth, so he returns alone.
Years later, working the night shift at the IRS, Sebastian feels the cosmic pull once more. Gina is in trouble. Again. Of course he must return and save her! Perhaps this time, he hopes, they can remain together. Returning through the interdimensional doorway, Sebastian must gather his old comrades from the war, cross the towering Zet mountains, and free Gina from the evil Zetin warlord’s castle.
Unfortunately, there are more questions to answer. Is his adventure on the other side real? Or is it just the dream of a psychotic killer? That’s what the police want to know when his friends and co-workers go missing.
THE DREAM LAND Trilogy is a tour-de-force genre-mashing Epic of Interdimensional intrigue and alien romance, a psychological thriller marbled with twisted humor, steampunk pathos, and time/space conundra.
NOTE: Check your local Amazon listings. You may be able to get these for free if you are a Kindle Unlimited or Amazon Prime member!
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(C) Copyright 2010-2022 by Stephen M. Swartz. All Rights Reserved. No part of this blog, whether text or image, may be used without me giving you written permission, except for brief excerpts that are accompanied by a link to this entire blog.
Violators shall be written into novels as characters who are killed off. Serious violators shall be identified and dealt with according to the laws of the United States of America.
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