Kyle Robert Shultz's Blog, page 31

Book Review – Where the Woods Grow Wild

Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Where-Woods-Grow-Wild-Philbrick-ebook/dp/B01N2K4SMR/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1485489362&sr=8-1

A forest looms over Bardun Village. Nobody goes in. Nothing comes out. The secrets in the oaks remain hidden until a mischievous escapade thrusts Martin and Elodie behind the silent trees. Separated and lost in a tangle of fantasy, they discover more than animals roam where the woods grow wild.

“Is he dangerous when he’s mad?” Martin asked.
“That al...

Beaumont and Beasley Announcements!

I want to thank everyone who has responded so positively to the launch of Book 1 in the Beaumont and Beasley series, The Beast of Talesend. I'm thrilled that people have enjoyed it, and I'm looking forward to sharing more stories in this universe.

So, without further ado, it's time for some announcements!

The world of the Beaumont and Beasley series is big. Really big. Pretty much every classic public domain work of fiction is real there, and the consequences of all those stories have played...

How To Make An Ugly Bullet Journal

The bullet journal: a simple, adaptable system that helps you to manage your time and your to-do list.

Sounds nice and friendly, right? And yet, when you google how to actually engage in bullet journaling, you are immediately presented with approximately 16 kaskillion pictures of elaborate, color-coded notebooks that look as if they were designed by Rembrandt. You’re also bombarded with a lot of unnerving terminology – “future log,” “collections,” “signifiers,” etc. A few minutes of skimming pages like these can easily throw you off the whole idea of creating a bullet journal.

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Author’s Note: I’m not knocking people who take the time and effort to make artistic-looking bullet journals; so there’s no need to send me angry letters written in breathtaking calligraphy and framed in washi tape. However, I think it’s important that people feel free to make ugly bullet journals. The bullet journal system really is a fantastic productivity tool, but some people can use it more effectively when they don’t set out to make it look nice.

So, without further ado, here’s The Ugly Bullet Journal Method (patent pending). Oh, and just so you know, the abbreviation of “bullet journal” is “BuJo.” Sounds ridiculous, but it saves wear and tear on the vocal apparatus.

Step 1: The notebook.

[image error]You can turn any notebook into a bullet journal. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy or expensive. That being said, some notebooks have design features that make bullet journaling easier. The best one is the Leuchtturm1917. You don’t have to bother learning how to proununce that, but if you’re interested, it’s LOY-schss-ttt-oyyym-NYNE-tien-seh-vahn-TIENN. The useful thing about this one, from a BuJo perspective, is that it’s got a ready-made index and numbered pages. These things are important elements of the BuJo system, so it’s more convenient to not have to make them from scratch. The Leuchtturm comes in lined and dotted editions. Dotted is better if you want to sketch or do other creative stuff in your journal, but lined works just as well.

You’ve got two choices of vendors for the Leuchtturm – Amazon and BulletJournal.com. If you buy from the official BuJo website, you get a black or green notebook with “Bullet Journal” embossed across the front and with a guide to the BuJo method printed inside. This model also has three bookmark ribbons, unlike the regular Leuchtturm, which only has two. This version costs $25.

The extra bookmark, however, is the only really thing the “official” notebook has going for it. I’ve deviated from the original method extensively, so I don’t need the guide, and neither will you if you use my method. Also, the store on bulletjournal.com seems to run out of notebooks pretty often – as of today, they’re out of stock again. Amazon, meanwhile, offers a more standard Leuchtturm for $20, in a variety of colors. Like I said, if you don’t want to shell out that kind of money for a notebook, it’s not essential. But the features of the Leuchtturm do make things easier.

For this post, I’m using photos from my Bullet Journal (one of the officially-branded Leuchtturms) and from a Moleskine cahier notebook. Moleskine cahiers are really too small for bullet journaling, but I’m using one as a prop because if I show pictures of everything in my Leuchtturm, you’ll see spoilers for the Beaumont and Beasley series. Trust me, you don’t want that.

I’m on Goodreads! Also, have a free book! And cookies!*

*digital downloadable cookies only, sorry.

Just a reminder that the 5-day free promotion for The Beast of Talesend starts today! You can download and permanently own the e-book at no cost to your personage if you buy it at any time before January 23. After that, it will go back to the regular price of $2.99, but it will still be available free to Kindle Unlimited subscribers.

I’m still working through some technical difficulties with regard to my author page on Amazon, as well as linking the Kindle and paperback versions on the same page. However, I do now have an author page on Goodreads! It’s a little bare at the moment; but you can still connect to me on that site now if you want. I’ll be updating it very soon with more stuff.

The Beast of Talesend – Now Available!

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Ta-da!

Sorry, that’s the best thing I came up with after hours of thinking about how to phrase this blog post. “Behold, my fiendish creation” was a very close runner-up.

The Beast of Talesend, Book 1 of the Beaumont and Beasley series, is now available on Amazon! Due to some technical difficulties, the 5-day free promotion will not actually start until tomorrow (January 18). Sorry about that. For the time being, however, if you’re a member of Kindle Unlimited, you can still download it for free right now. The Kindle and print editions of the book still need some time to get linked together, so for now they’re on separate pages. You can access the Kindle version here and the paperback version here. 

If you like the story and decide to write a favorable review on Amazon, I will be extremely grateful. If you do not like the story and decide to write an unfavorable review, I will hunt you down and banish you to an alternate dimension ruled by vampire aardvarks.

Okay, I don’t actually know how to do that, so if you write a negative review, I guess I’m just going to have to live with it. Actually, I welcome constructive criticism! (He said, through clenched teeth, with an insincere smile on his face.) Just so long as you write something more substantial than “It sucked,” I will not complain. I know there’s room for improvement in my writing, so if you see an element that needs polishing, feel free to let me know.

That being said, I am hopeful that you’ll enjoy The Beast of Talesend. I like it, personally, and I’m looking forward to continuing the series. As always, you can follow me on this blog or on Twitter to stay in the loop about my future projects.

Thanks everyone, and have a great day!

Book Launch Announcement!

All right everyone, here we go…

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I’ve been working on this particular book for roughly a year. However, I recently discovered that I’ve been working on the basic premise for this book for eight years…which made me realize it’s about time I actually got something published.

And next Tuesday, the 17th of January, it’s finally going to happen.

For those who haven’t yet visited the Books page on this site, here’s the synopsis for The Beast of Talesend:

Private eye Nathaniel Beasley lives in a world where fairy tales ended a long time ago – where zeppelins now soar the skies instead of dragons, and where the first automobiles have taken the place of flying carpets. He’s made a name for himself across the Afterlands by debunking fake magicians and exposing fraudulent monsters. This is the modern age, after all. Magic and monsters are long gone.

At least, that’s what Nathaniel believes. Until he gets magically transformed into a monster, that is.

The only person who may be able to help Nathaniel is Lady Cordelia Beaumont, one of the last enchantresses in the Afterlands. But in order for her to cure him, they’ll have to retrieve a powerful artifact from a ruthless crime boss – who is also Cordelia’s father.

The fate of the Afterlands lies in the hands of a runaway enchantress and a monstrous ex-detective. What could possibly go wrong?

The Beast of Talesend – or “T-BOT,” as I affectionately refer to it around the house – has been through a lot over the past year, as all my incredibly patient beta-readers will attest. But thanks to extensive workshopping with the help of the awesome community on Scribophile, it’s finally ready for publication. (Almost. Hence the one-week wait.)

The Beast of Talesend is a novella of roughly 40,000 words, and will be sold on Amazon. For the first 5 days after the launch date, it will be available for free as a special promotion. After January 21, the e-book version will be $2.99. A paperback version will be available as well, for $7.99. The book will also be offered for free to subscribers in Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited program.

Oh, and as this is my first book, all retweets, shares, follows, etc. will be greatly appreciated! I’d like to promote this launch as widely as possible.

Thanks, and see you next Tuesday!

Book Review – The Art of Twitter by Daniel Parsons

Hello everyone! First off, I want to thank the people who have followed this blog over the past couple of days; I really appreciate it! I’m starting a more regular schedule of blogging in 2017 – one post per week, at least – as part of my efforts to get serious about social media. 

With that in mind, I’m devoting today’s post to reviewing a book that’s been a big help to me lately – The Art of Twitter, by British novelist Daniel Parsons. Daniel’s been an inspiration to me in his use of Twitter as a marketing and networking tool, so I was very excited when he announced the release of his own guide to the site.

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Simply put, if you’re a creator of any kind, The Art of Twitter is a must-read. It’s designed with a wide range of readers in mind – writers, artists, musicians, etc., so you don’t have to be a writer to get something out of it. Most of what I learned about Twitter was through trial and error, but TAOT de-mystifies the platform by explaining all the relevant Twitter terms and concepts. This is helpful even if you’re not a Twitter noob – I thought I knew a lot about the site, but Parsons alerted me to important things I hadn’t previously been aware of. He explains how Twitter can be a powerful business tool in the right hands, as well as the various mistakes you shouldn’t make with it. I’ve already begun to see significant returns in my own use of Twitter by putting the advice in this book into practice. I can’t recommend it highly enough.

The Art of Twitter is available for $3.99 on Amazon Kindle ($9.99 for the paperback version). Be sure to check out Daniel’s Amazon author page, where you can find his excellent fiction works, as well as his main website at www.danielparsonsbooks.com. Daniel’s own Twitter account can be found at the handle @dkparsonswriter. Following him will add a welcome dash of British humor to your Twitter feed.

Happy New Year!

Hope everyone reading this is having a great 2017 so far! As you can see, I’ve redesigned the site in preparation for a new year of blogging and book-selling. I’ll be embarking on a more regular schedule of posting over the coming weeks, and I plan to make some publication-related announcements very soon. Thanks for visiting!

Awesome Early Christmas Present!

Too deep in plot wrangling to write a longer blog post tonight, but I want to share this awesome painting that my talented friend Kelly Bornstedt (aka Tigryph on DeviantArt) made for me as a Christmas gift. It shows one of my characters, an owl-based fae called Malcolm Quigg, who will play a significant role as the Beaumont and Beasley series progresses. (I wanted to embed it in this post, but WordPress doesn’t seem to like it when I embed things.) Be sure to check out the other fantastic works in her gallery as well!