Sharon E. Cathcart's Blog

A while back, I submitted a short story entitled The Scribe of Rashid to an anthology benefiting the American Cancer Society. The anthology also represents a Guinness World Record attempt (whether it will be successful remains to be seen).

In any event, I was notified today that the story was accepted by the review board for inclusion in the book. Both paperback and eBook editions will be released in May 2012. I will provide links as soon as they are available.

The Scribe of Rashid first appeared in Around the World in 80 Pages.

Hi, everyone. Just a heads-up on this: I'll be participating in at least one author panel during Clockwork Alchemy, a San Jose, Calif., steampunk convention, during Memorial Day weekend this year.

I know; you're thinking, "But wait! She writes historical fiction, not steampunk!"

Well, part of what I'll be talking about is creating a world, manners and mores in places other than England during the Victorian period and so on.

Once I have more particulars about date and time of panel, I'll post that information as well. I hope that those who are local will be able to attend.

Hi, everyone. After much thought, I decided to create a brand-new website. I'm very pleased with the results.

Please visit my new page at this link and add it to your bookmarks.

Thanks!

I am very excited to announce that I have been chosen as a judge for the historical fiction division of the Global eBook Awards. This is a real honor, and I'm absolutely delighted!

Hi, everyone. Some of you may remember this blog post, in which I talked about why I was not going to enroll in Amazon's draconian KDP Select program.

Well, this morning we got some very interesting news over on the Bestseller Bound writing group. You see, we put out some sample anthologies containing first chapters of our then-current works (mine was You Had to Be There: Three Years of Mayhem and Bad Decisions in the Portland Music Scene). Some of those books have now been enrolled in KDP Select. Thanks to the KDP Select exclusivity clause, we now have to take down not only the anthology on its host sites, but any link on any of our websites in order to protect the folks who opted in.

I'll be removing the links from my site later this morning, but I'm not happy about it. I brought this up in our group when people were raving about how wonderful the program would be, but no one wanted to listen. Those of us who got to the exclusivity clause in the paperwork and said "no way" are now being punished, for lack of a better term, by those who didn't see the potential problems.

Bitter? A little bit. I agree with the man who edited the anthologies, though; it's easier to do it this way than to do major surgery on interiors, cover art and trailers to satisfy Amazon's hold over the $1.70 (the anticipated average per month if every single title in the program is "borrowed" once) that they owe authors who sold their souls to this program.

Maybe you enrolled in KDP Select and think it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. Hooray! Everyone's business is different. As for me, I opted out ... and am feeling the weight of it anyway.

It's the last full week of January, which means my month-long birthday celebration is coming to a close. I've been having the best fun giving out presents to my fans and friends.

For the final gift, you may visit this link to get an eBook copy of In The Eye of The Beholder: A Novel of The Phantom of the Opera free of charge through Jan. 29. Enter coupon code YF37K at checkout.

Thanks so much for your kindness and generosity to me as an author. You are all very much appreciated!

I cannot believe I forgot to share this here on GoodReads!

You can get a copy of my music business memoir at this link: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/295... eBook edition is free with coupon SB88Z through Jan. 22. Thanks for having a look!

Hi, everyone. I was inspired to start a new anthology project that will be out late this year. Through The Opera Glass will consist of short stories featuring characters from In The Eye of The Beholder: A Novel of The Phantom of the Opera and its forthcoming sequel, In The Eye of The Storm.

I'm very excited about this project. Some of the stories will be based on writing prompts from various sites, and some will be all-new. I look forward to sharing the tales with my readers.

Hi, everyone. As part of my month-long birthday celebration, I'm giving presents to my readers.

To get a free copy of Les Pensees Dangereuses, visit this link and enter coupon XL52L upon checkout. Thanks for helping me celebrate my birthday; there'll be another special offer next week.

Hello, everyone! In celebration of my birthday (which is today, Jan. 2), I'm offering specials all month long.

Today's goodie is a free copy of 2010 Hindsight: A Year of Personal Growth, In Spite of Myself. Just visit this link and enter coupon code JQ55B at checkout. Offer valid through Jan. 8, 2012.

Thanks for having a look!