Leon Stevens's Blog, page 38
August 23, 2024
Free Book Friday Aug. 23: Book Sale
Everybody loves a sale, right? Saving a few bucks? Cool! Spending less money than you would on that Mochachinofrappaspresohalfcaf? Nice.
Starting tomorrow, over 300 books by indie authors! Searchable by genre and sale price! 3 days only.
In other news: Did you know that my book, The View from Here, is now…
…an award eligible book?
Now all it has to do is win. But it’s an honor just to be…
…one of the first 100 submissions.
Okay, okay. All the book had to be was a sci-fi novella, and all I had to do was fill out a form quickly at 4:00 EST on Thursday, but it was free to enter and I missed it that last time.
-Leon
The story behind Free Book Friday:I’ve met many authors and readers during my time marketing, cross-promoting, and blogging. I think writers have a responsibility to inform readers about all the indie authors out there in the very crowded world of book publishing. You can’t do it alone, and why would you when you have a supportive group available?
Readers don’t just read one author – they stick with their favorite genres. Therein lies the power in cross-promotion. If one of my readers buys a book from an author I promote, then chances are there will be a reciprocal effect, or so is the hope. Do I want to boost sales? Of course I do. Do I want to boost other’s sales? Why not. It’s called karma.
Some free book offers require a newsletter sign-up, which is a small non-monetary price to pay to try out a new indie author.
Reads From StoryOriginStoryOrigin allows authors to advertise their books to each other’s audience. I hope you have been able to discover a new favorite!
Free Books/KU
Sales/Purchase Links
Aug 14 – Sept 13Review Copies (These are free!)Review copies: Like reviewing books? Try my two poetry collections: Lines by Leon and A Wonder of Words
Newsletter:Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and receive a free book (poetry or science fiction): Leon’s Newsletter
Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.
My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/
August 20, 2024
Tuesday Top Ten: Comedy, Drama, or Both?
I recently watched “Good Morning Vietnam” starring Robin Williams, and it got me thinking of other actors/actresses who have successfully changed genres.
While Good Morning Vietnam wasn’t a comedy per say, and much of it was an avenue for Williams to improvise in his famous way, the dramatic parts were not overshadowed. Good Will Hunting was another dramatic performance not to be missed.
Yes, he has done other movies that don’t have the word ‘good’ in the title…
The Top Ten Comedy/Drama Performers10. Robert De Niro. I grew up knowing him as a dramatic actor, but it seems that all he does now is comedy. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
9. Whoopie Goldberg. I first saw her as a stand-up comedian in the 80s, then in a semi-dramatic role in Ghost, and as Guinan on Star Trek. I didn’t realize that she has the rare EGOT. No it’s not a disease, it’s winning and Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony.
8. Alan Rickman. In Galaxy Quest he played a dramatic actor who became more famous for his science fiction role. While not side-splitting hilarious, he delivers some very funny lines with a tinge of sarcasm and self-loathing.
7. Jeff Daniels. Watch him in The Newsroom and Pleasantville, then watch Dumb and Dumber. Wait. Do it the other way around.
6. Brad Pitt. One of his best roles was in the creepy thriller, Se7en, delivering the unforgettable line, “What’s in the box? What’s in the box!?”. But he showed off his comedic side on an episode of Friends and to a lesser extent in 12 Monkeys.
5. Meryl Streep. Is there nothing she can’t do?
4. Brendan Fraser. After a career starring in goofy teen movies and lighthearted action films, Fraser blew me away in The Whale.
3. Sally Field. I first saw her in the 70s movie, Smokey and the Bear, but she is as versatile an actress as you can get.
2. Jim Carrey. Who would have thought this goofy impressionist with the mailable face would been so good in movies like The Truman Show, Man on the Moon and Eternal sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
1. Robin Williams (see intro)
-Leon
Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.
My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/
Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and receive a free book!
Oh, pick me!
C’mon, space stuff!
August 19, 2024
Music Monday: 2009
There is a radio show on CBC here in Canada that occasionally does a feature called SYNTH: Songs You Need To Hear.
Now, I can’t say to someone, “You’ll like this song” (or book for that matter) because I can’t presume that others will share my taste in music (or books), so it is safer to say, “You might like this” and if they don’t like it, so be it.
Maybe you will find a new favorite.
CBC MUSIC, Central · Mornings with CBC Music
[Note: If you are reading this on my Goodreads page, music videos do not display]
2009
Canadian band Marianas Trench has been around since 1999, releasing their debut album in 2006.
Is The Fray America’s Coldplay? You could argue…
Shinedown never had another big hit…
When I saw this song listed as a one-hit wonder I didn’t recognize it until the opening string part.
Did we all forget The Ting Tings?
-Leon
Want to read more music blogs? Here are some of the ones I follow: Mostly Music Covers, Take it Easy, Beetley Pete, A Sound Day, PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture, SuperdekesVinylReviews, Peat Long’s Blog, Fox Reviews Rock
Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.
My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/
Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and receive a free book!
Oh, pick me!
C’mon, space stuff!
August 18, 2024
Songs for a Sunday: Blair Lee
I had never heard of Blair Lee until I saw an CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) Olympic moment montage, featuring the calls of veteran sportscaster Mark Lee, set to a beautiful song. Actually, I didn’t know who it was until I looked it up. As you might have guessed, the two are related, Blair being his daughter.
The video still gives me goosebumps.
Here is the full version of All Day:
So, since I liked the song, so I looked up more songs from Blair. Turns out I had heard her music before. Specifically, this next song that I heard on the radio quite a bit.
Here are some songs I had not heard until last week.
I hope you have enjoyed Blair Lee’s music as much as I have.
-Leon
Want to read more music blogs? Here are some of the ones I follow: Mostly Music Covers, Take it Easy, Beetley Pete, A Sound Day, PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture, SuperdekesVinylReviews, Fox Reviews Rock
Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.
My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/
Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and receive a free book!
Oh, pick me!
C’mon, space stuff!
August 17, 2024
Weekend Wrap-up: Sales and Competitions
If you are an indie author with books on Amazon, you will know where I copied this graphic from.
If you are not an author let me explain. Indie authors are able to track their Amazon book sales from the KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) dashboard. They do this by visiting the site one, two, three, four, five or more times a day.
Apparently, rumor has it that sales may appear if you refresh the page one, two, three, four, five or more times in a row.
As you can see, there was a dearth of sales before the month of August before tanking the last two days.
On the sci-fi novella book competition front, I’ll be attempting to enter my sci-fi novella into a book competition later today. Entry starts this afternoon and they accept the first 100 eligible books. I’ll be preparing my entry form information so I’ll be ready to copy and paste.
-Leon
In case you missed it:Weekend Wrap-up: Sales and CompetitionsFree Book Friday Aug. 16: E-reader update.Thursday Thoughts: Hot, hot, heat.Weird Wednesday: MarsTuesday Top Ten: Olympic Moments We Didn’t See.Hope you enjoyed the recap! Feel free to share it with others.
Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.
My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/
Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and receive a free book!
Oh, pick me!
C’mon, space stuff!Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.
My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/
Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and receive a free book!
Oh, pick me!
C’mon, space stuff!
August 16, 2024
Free Book Friday Aug. 16: E-reader update.
I received my Kindle Ereader this week. The box it came in was so big, it could have fit 40 tightly packed Kindles. Seriously? When I picked it up, I couldn’t tell if there was anything in it.
Setting it up was fun.
It gave me a code to enter on my Amazon account to register it, but entered my Amazon password incorrectly, and in an attempt to return to the page, I couldn’t find the code again. It then asked me if I wanted the free trial of Kindle Unlimited, but I passed because I was focused on the registration issue.
I signed into Amazon on on my laptop to get help from customer service. While I was waiting for “David”, I noticed that the few books I had purchased or downloaded for free were in my Kindle library, plus all the “Since you bought” and “You might like” suggestions.
I finally told “David” my issue of not being able to register from my new Kindle, but seeing it on my Amazon account. After a bit of clarification, he asked what my order number was, and I told him I had ordered it from a different retailer.
I didn’t expect “David” to ghost me for the next few minutes, but finally he responded by telling my my device was already registered. It took a few more minutes to get the explanation why, since I didn’t complete the process (since I had entered my email on the Kindle and signed into Amazon, so it registered it. So the code apparently is moot).
“Is there anything else I can help you with?” “David” asked, and I told him I accidently declined the three-month free KU subscription, and could I get it back.
Long story short: Nope.
Sigh.
-Leon
The story behind Free Book Friday:I’ve met many authors and readers during my time marketing, cross-promoting, and blogging. I think writers have a responsibility to inform readers about all the indie authors out there in the very crowded world of book publishing. You can’t do it alone, and why would you when you have a supportive group available?
Readers don’t just read one author – they stick with their favorite genres. Therein lies the power in cross-promotion. If one of my readers buys a book from an author I promote, then chances are there will be a reciprocal effect, or so is the hope. Do I want to boost sales? Of course I do. Do I want to boost other’s sales? Why not. It’s called karma.
Some free book offers require a newsletter sign-up, which is a small non-monetary price to pay to try out a new indie author.
Reads From StoryOriginStoryOrigin allows authors to advertise their books to each other’s audience. I hope you have been able to discover a new favorite!
Free Books/KU
July 16th-Aug 21stSales/Purchase Links
Aug 14 – Sept 13Review Copies (These are free!)Review copies: Like reviewing books? Try my two poetry collections: Lines by Leon and A Wonder of Words
Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and receive a free book (poetry or science fiction or both): Leon’s Newsletter
Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.
My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/
Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and receive a free book!
Oh, pick me!
C’mon, space stuff!
August 15, 2024
Thursday Thoughts: Hot, hot, heat.
[Author’s note: This was going to be a short post about cleaning out my fridge.]
I despise throwing out food.
Fuzz on sour cream? Scoop it off. Moldy cheese? Surgical removal. Stale bread? It’s halfway to toast. Slightly slimy meat?
Well, you have to draw the line somewhere…
So, when I finally got around to pulling all the hot sauce containers out of the fridge and discovering seven of them were less than 10% full—not counting the crusty dregs on the sides—I was forced to make an executive decision, either toss them or mix them.
I mixed them. The result? Pretty, pretty, pretty good*.
As you probably surmised, I enjoy hot sauce. There is a limit though. I don’t like heat just for the sake of heat. There has to be a reason to eat a spicy— and that’s flavor. If the burning sensation masks the flavor, it also removes the enjoyment of the food.
What makes peppers hot? Capsaicin. What the heck is capsaicin? It is:
8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide
Not what you wanted? Okay. Capsaicin is the stuff that tastes like burning.** How does it do that? According to the American National Institute of Health (and verified by Google):
“Capsaicin binds to receptors in your mouth and on your tongue which triggers heat receptors in the skin, tricking the nervous system into thinking you’re overheating. In response, your brain cranks up all of your body’s cooling mechanisms.“
The degree of hotness of a pepper is measured in Scoville units. According to the website hot-chili-sauce.com:
“The principle of the Scoville scale is to prepare a solution of fresh peppers puree and to mix it with sweet water. The solutions are tasted by 5 people and as a long as burning sensation persists the dilution is continued. For example, cayenne must be diluted ~50,000 times to no longer feel the burning sensation according to the Scoville scale.“
Here is the scale for your enjoyment:
As you can see, the Carolina Reaper is the hottest pepper in the world—except it’s not.
The hottest pepper as of last year is Pepper X (formally known as Pepper Twitter). Invented—or more accurately—breed by the same guy who gave us the Carolina Reaper, Smokin’ Ed. Pepper X is rated 2.7 million Scoville units.
Yeah, yeah, You want to see people eat Pepper X. Here you go. If you are impatient, you can skip to 9:30 in the video.
You might think eating hot for the sake of hot is stupid. You’re not to far off, but everyone has their tolerance level. Ed Currie is the G.O.A.T in my mind.
-Leon
*10 bonus points if you know the reference.
**20 bonus points for that one.
-Leon
Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.
My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/
Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and receive a free book!
Oh, pick me!
C’mon, space stuff!
August 14, 2024
Weird Wednesday: Mars
Apparently there is the possibility of water on Mars. There’s only a few problems:
It’s 20 km below the surfaceWe would have to get there to get itWe don’t have the technology to drill that deepHow deep is the deepest hole in the Earth? The Kola Superdeep Borehole in Russia, is the deepest hole ever dug reaches approximately 7.5 miles below the Earth’s surface (or 12,262 meters), a depth that took about 20 years to reach. They had to stop when the temperatures were too high and the rocks were like melted plastic.
Here are some real facts:
Of course, you can’t make a deep hole in the Earth without someone thinking this:
But I digress…
If we were able to get to the water on Mars, there is the possibility that microbes could have survived in the water, and if the 2017 movie “Life” has taught us anything … that’s not a good thing.
Is the movie good? It’s a predictable, overused trope-ridden, sci-fi horror flick with an all-star cast.
I liked it.
-Leon
My newsletter goes out every Wednesday: Lines by Leon Super Newsletter Extravaganza
Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.
My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/
Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and receive a free book!
Oh, pick me!
C’mon, space stuff!
August 13, 2024
Tuesday Top Ten: Olympic Moments We Didn’t See.
Were the closing ceremonies better than the opening. No. Were they worse? No.
Now that the first Olympics are over and the set-up begins for the Paralympics, here is the list of things we all expected to see.
Olympic Moments We Never Saw10. Asterix and Obelix competing in beach volleyball
9. The Seine River monster, Oo-La-La, enjoying the international buffet.
8. Emmanuel Macron’s abs.
7. A blue guy on a serving platter. Wait! Scratch that.
6. Baguettes at the marathon aid stations.
5. Using the Eiffel tower for the sport climbing competition.
4. Quasimodo ringing the Olympic bell.
3. French spectators with a glass of wine and a cigarette.
2. Tintin. Like really, where was he*?
1. Mimes.
-Leon
*Yes, I know Tintin was Belgian.
Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.
My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/
Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and receive a free book!
Oh, pick me!
C’mon, space stuff!
August 12, 2024
Music Monday: 2008
There is a radio show on CBC here in Canada that occasionally does a feature called SYNTH: Songs You Need To Hear.
Now, I can’t say to someone, “You’ll like this song” (or book for that matter) because I can’t presume that others will share my taste in music (or books), so it is safer to say, “You might like this” and if they don’t like it, so be it.
Maybe you will find a new favorite.
CBC MUSIC, Central · Mornings with CBC Music
[Note: If you are reading this on my Goodreads page, music videos do not display]
Here are a bunch of tunes we heard a lot in 2008.
Am I a fan of Lady Gaga? I never bought any albums but she does write catchy tunes.
How about a few one-hit wonders?
I did not know this was Trace Cyrus’ band. I did not know that Miley had a brother. I know now that this was their only album.
I hope there were a few that you liked.
-Leon
Want to read more music blogs? Here are some of the ones I follow: Mostly Music Covers, Take it Easy, Beetley Pete, A Sound Day, PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture, SuperdekesVinylReviews, Peat Long’s Blog, Fox Reviews Rock
Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.
My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/
Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and receive a free book!
Oh, pick me!
C’mon, space stuff!
