M.C. Ryder's Blog, page 3

Firebird Book Award

I have some exciting news! I found out earlier today that I'm a Firebird Book Award winner! Not with just 1 book but all 5 of my The Dark series books! Check out the link here https://www.speakuptalkradio.com/book...

Reader's Favorite

Hello readers! Exciting news! Hope everyone enjoyed their Labor Day weekend. Found out yesterday that All I See Are Dark Clouds earned a 5-star review with Reader's Favorite! I'm extremely happy! Behind the scenes, I worked extra hard to earn that achievement and so glad All I See Are Dark Clouds was the one to earn that milestone. I'm hoping more good things are to come soon!

You can check out the review here:
https://readersfavorite.com/book-revi...

Cover of the Month Vote

I'm excited to announce that How to Stand Up to Bullying has been selected to run in All Author's September cover of the month contest! Head over to https://allauthor.com/cover-of-the-mo... and vote!

Make sure to return each week to re-vote until the winner is announced. Thank you for your support!

Epic Conclusion

The epic conclusion in The Dark series, All I See Are Dark Clouds, is now available at Barnes and Noble! Also available is The Neighbors, a Dark short, that ties in with All I See Are Dark Clouds. Surprise! You're getting 2 new releases at the same time!

Every artist has a masterpiece and I'm proud to consider All I See Are Dark Clouds as a masterpiece in storytelling. It's the longest book in the series. I dared to take elements to the next level. At times, I wondered if I was taking them too far, but from the story standpoint, they were necessary. What I managed to craft is something I didn't believe I'd ever have a chance again. Time will tell.

In The Neighbors, I managed to capture something realistic in Zoe. She is one of my favorite sassy characters and I had so much fun bringing her to life.

I promise, you'll be left with wanting more...and there is so much more yet to come! Take a chance on me, you won't be disappointed.

Dare To Be Unique

Dare to be unique. A line I've used from the beginning shortly after I published my first book, The Darkest Side of the Moon. Somewhere along the way, I lost sight of my unofficial tagline. When the term "tagline" was mentioned during a writing conference, I realized I already had one, however I had yet to fully implement it. I may be new to the business of the publishing world, but I answer to no one but myself. I handed the reins over to the wrong individuals and experienced a setback. Learned a valuable lesson. Lost my way in the process. The ocean is massive. The fish are small. There are always sharks circling and waiting in the shadows to prey upon the eager. It's time for me to swim away from the school and travel the beaten path. Risky, but I'll never know if I don't try. It's time to be daring. Time to be unique.

All I See Are Dark Clouds

My third book in The Dark series, All I See Are Dark Clouds, is coming soon! Very soon! Hopefully, this week! The epic conclusion... or is it? Every artist has a masterpiece, and I believe this is my masterpiece. Unlike my prior novels, All I See Are Dark Clouds is written in first-person narrative. I think first-person is more difficult to write in, at least it is for me. I normally stray away, but I wanted to do something different with my trilogy. Write each story in a different narrative. I dare to be unique, and managed something different, but it wasn't an easy task. I wrote this before I experienced depression and grief firsthand. Had to take multiple breaks as writing a depressed character was, well, depressing. I'm thankful I had the tools when I found myself slipped into the same state as Camille. My own words constantly echo in my mind when my own dark clouds move in. Without the dark, the light wouldn't reveal rainbows. For rainbows have the power to fill your woes with hope.

Post-Project Depression

Depression comes in many forms. There are many sides to depression. When performing a simple search, 4 main causes come up: family history, illness and health issues, medication, drugs, or alcohol, and personality. Depression is broad. When conducting some research, I came across an article about Post-Project Depression. Something I never heard of before, but know something had to be out there for writers/authors that's similar to post-postpartum depression. There are layers of personal things in my life that I've overcome and am still overcoming. And yet, I'm experiencing a low after the high, which is something I've been aware of for a while after I completed writing my series. I emersed myself into a fantasy world that I created with very real characters and now I'm back in reality. I'm working hard to spread the word about my books, but I miss the fire in my soul when I was writing them. Crave to start other writing projects, but I'm taking the necessary time off before diving back in. The first step in overcoming anything is awareness. To anyone reading this, I hope this brings you awareness to any major project you've worked on and are now struggling to find that fire again.

Here is the article:
https://puttylike.com/now-what-how-to...

Discourse

Greetings readers!

Streaming now on YouTube, book discussion for #LiteraryTitan award-winning, The Darkest Side of the Moon by #Discourse

Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8Ybj...

Highlights: "Did you know that asparagus has some intense powers?'
"Things are probably going to get bad real fast."
"Read on. Grab the book and find out because it does." 😂

Exclusive author interview featured in #DEMODEMagazine

Awesome Gang

Looking for some free promotional ways to help spread the word about my books, while I wait for other projects in the works to take off, I found Awesome Gang. You can check out my author interview with Awesome Gang here:

https://awesomegang.com/m-c-ryder/

How to Stand Up to Bullying

I had not planned on writing a nonfiction book regarding bullying, but it came out of me within a month. Felt it was much needed in the word, so I pushed to get it published sooner rather than later. It's officially available now, exclusively on Barnes and Noble. It will become available online everywhere on all major retailers however it takes them time to upload the information. At this time, DO NOT buy off of Amazon. For some reason there are "new" and "used" copies priced at $55.67. Funny how it was only just approved to be distributed a day ago and yet "BOOK IDEAS" and "Good for Readers" have "copies" in stock. Lies!

The only legit place to purchase a copy at this time is Barnes and Noble. Anything over $13.99 for a paperback copy is a scam.

Here's the link: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/how-...