Anthea Carson's Blog, page 7
August 30, 2012
How well do free books work for promotion
I have several books published on Kindle, and use the free books avidly to promote them. I have had more success doing this than any other promotion strategy I've found. As an unknown author it is an uphill battle to get people to buy your book. So I had an idea this week to promote myself as an author by having a book that was always free. I tried to put this book on Amazon but found that the only option was to charge at least 99 cents for it. But I was able to put it on goodreads for free, so I did that. I wouldn't have been able to put it on goodreads were it not published, so I had to charge for it on amazon, and in order to give it away free on goodreads I had to give up the free kindle promotions. So I am not sure how all this is going to work, it is in an experiment. One thing I will say, this free book on goodreads is my favorite cover yet.
August 28, 2012
Girl with the Alligator Pants
My book Girl with the Alligator Pants is free today on Amazon. Here is a brief teaser form the book:
Jane couldn't take her eyes off those magical alligator pants that Siggy wore. She had to resist the impulse to reach out and feel them because that wouldn't look too cool at a frat party with a garage band.
Quirky characters in a novel about car rides with teenage druggies in the Eighties.
"It took me back to some of my times with my friends and the things we did, or the things we thought, or perhaps just some of the dreams of the things we would have done if we had been born under a different star and at a different time. It is humorous and flighty at times, but always entertaining." --Amazon Reader
Here is the link to download free.
http://www.amazon.com/Girl-Alligator-...
Jane couldn't take her eyes off those magical alligator pants that Siggy wore. She had to resist the impulse to reach out and feel them because that wouldn't look too cool at a frat party with a garage band.
Quirky characters in a novel about car rides with teenage druggies in the Eighties.
"It took me back to some of my times with my friends and the things we did, or the things we thought, or perhaps just some of the dreams of the things we would have done if we had been born under a different star and at a different time. It is humorous and flighty at times, but always entertaining." --Amazon Reader
Here is the link to download free.
http://www.amazon.com/Girl-Alligator-...
August 24, 2012
Free Today
The Dark Lake is free today and tomorrow, August 24 and 25. The Dark Lake is a haunting psychodrama about a woman stuck emotionally in the past. A traumatic event she can't remember keeps her from moving forward. She goes to therapy and AA and functions by living in denial. But then when they drag her car up from the bottom of the lake she is forced to look at what happened that traumatic night. This book is available only on kindle http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Lake-Oshko...
August 21, 2012
Beasts of the Southern Wild
I just saw Beasts of the Southern Wild and it's one of those movies that you keep thinking about the next day. Visually, I did not enjoy the experience of the movie because it was filmed in such a filthy world, but that was the point of the movie. It is a movie about a little girl who is living in a place near New Orleans they call the Bathtub. The movie chronicles the storm Katrina and the effects on the lives of a little girl who is already living in very precarious circumstances. She lives as if in a garbage dump and yet there is beauty and magic in this world; a sense of community that you could never find in suburbia. About halfway through the movie you realize that they, the people who live around this little girl named Hush Puppy, are the beasts of the Southern Wild. Hush Puppy has been referred to as a mythical hero and I can see why. Immediately, the next day after seeing the film, I am thinking of her when I meet the challenges in my very ordinary world. If she, a 6 yr old, can handle what she has to deal with, my troubles seem pretty small.
August 10, 2012
Tom Jones
I am taking forever to read this great classic by Henry Fielding. Not because it is a slow read (although it is certainly not an easy read) but mainly because it is a long book and my son interrupted it to ask me to read the Hunger Games trilogy. I knew that if I took a break from Fielding that it would be hard to get back into it.
I left off at a part in the story that is actually pretty difficult to read. The section is about halfway through the book, and is a story within a story. The teller (not Fielding, the character telling the story within the story) has an odd way of speaking, the story is full of new characters, constant (although amusing) interruptions from the listeners with stories of their own, and it goes on chapter after chapter.
Granted, it is an interesting and amusing story within a story. With Fielding, however, it's easy to miss the humor as it is very dry and his language is so rich, plus the times it is written in all make it something you must pay very close attention to and have a dictionary handy. This story within the story mirrors the general story and seems loaded with clues that may hint at solving the mystery of who the father of poor Tom might be.
That being said, I am anxious to get past the story within a story and on to the actual story of Tom Jones.
I left off at a part in the story that is actually pretty difficult to read. The section is about halfway through the book, and is a story within a story. The teller (not Fielding, the character telling the story within the story) has an odd way of speaking, the story is full of new characters, constant (although amusing) interruptions from the listeners with stories of their own, and it goes on chapter after chapter.
Granted, it is an interesting and amusing story within a story. With Fielding, however, it's easy to miss the humor as it is very dry and his language is so rich, plus the times it is written in all make it something you must pay very close attention to and have a dictionary handy. This story within the story mirrors the general story and seems loaded with clues that may hint at solving the mystery of who the father of poor Tom might be.
That being said, I am anxious to get past the story within a story and on to the actual story of Tom Jones.
August 7, 2012
Filming Faulkner
Humble Productions, Inc. is filming a production of AS I LAY DYING in Mississippi this fall. There will be casting calls in Jackson August 8th 2012. Here are the details: http://www.fox40tv.com/mostpopular/st...
I only wish I could go to Mississippi and watch the entire process: the auditions, the location scouting, the filming itself, the discussions that go on in the back rooms. I wish I could have listened in on the decision to make the film.
I ashamedly admit that AS I LAY DYING is one I haven't gotten to yet. I guess it has to be next on my list and bumped ahead of finishing THE HAMLET, and INTRUDERS IN THE DUST.
This is also the first time I've ever wished I were a producer. I would love to make any Faulkner book into a movie.
If you have never taken the time to delve into the work of this Mississippi writer, please do give it a try. But do so knowing that it will require some effort to understand, especially if you choose THE SOUND AND THE FURY. It is worth the effort.
I only wish I could go to Mississippi and watch the entire process: the auditions, the location scouting, the filming itself, the discussions that go on in the back rooms. I wish I could have listened in on the decision to make the film.
I ashamedly admit that AS I LAY DYING is one I haven't gotten to yet. I guess it has to be next on my list and bumped ahead of finishing THE HAMLET, and INTRUDERS IN THE DUST.
This is also the first time I've ever wished I were a producer. I would love to make any Faulkner book into a movie.
If you have never taken the time to delve into the work of this Mississippi writer, please do give it a try. But do so knowing that it will require some effort to understand, especially if you choose THE SOUND AND THE FURY. It is worth the effort.
July 22, 2012
Cheese Doodles
Cheese Doodles is free today, and the rest of the week.
Not good for you but very addictive.
Not good for you but very addictive.
July 16, 2012
Fun Faulkner Facts for the day.
I haven't read his biography, or I should say started reading the vast collection Faulkner biographies that must be out there. But I did learn a few new facts today. Here they are.
It takes time to get around to learning everything there is to learn about Faulkner, so bear with me. There's a lot of other things I have to get to. Housework, parenting, working, worrying, complaining etc. So, yea I'm a little embarrassed that I didn't already know the things I learned about him today.
1. Faulkner thought he created his own characters. Here's what I think. He was so oblivious to the world around him that he maybe didn't realize he was getting his ideas from it. People who knew him said that he seemed to ignore everyone around him, finding them all ordinary. I just think he was in denial. He claims he could create better characters than God. Yet everyone in the town of Oxford was enraged at him. So, who knows what the truth is. Whatever the truth is, even if those people were angry, even if they were hurt, he had a higher calling than their feelings.
2. Yoknapatawpha county came from a real word or word combination. Of course it did. No one comes up with that. Turns out it comes from two Chickasaw words meaning split land. "Earlier maps of the area called it "Yokney Patafa."
That's all for today. Back to the chores.
It takes time to get around to learning everything there is to learn about Faulkner, so bear with me. There's a lot of other things I have to get to. Housework, parenting, working, worrying, complaining etc. So, yea I'm a little embarrassed that I didn't already know the things I learned about him today.
1. Faulkner thought he created his own characters. Here's what I think. He was so oblivious to the world around him that he maybe didn't realize he was getting his ideas from it. People who knew him said that he seemed to ignore everyone around him, finding them all ordinary. I just think he was in denial. He claims he could create better characters than God. Yet everyone in the town of Oxford was enraged at him. So, who knows what the truth is. Whatever the truth is, even if those people were angry, even if they were hurt, he had a higher calling than their feelings.
2. Yoknapatawpha county came from a real word or word combination. Of course it did. No one comes up with that. Turns out it comes from two Chickasaw words meaning split land. "Earlier maps of the area called it "Yokney Patafa."
That's all for today. Back to the chores.
Free Today
Girl with the Alligator Pants is a lighthearted look at life in the 80's. The characters from The Dark Lake people the story, along with new characters not seen in The Dark Lake. While The Dark Lake is "dark indeed," Girl with the Alligator pants is entertaining and fun. The only darkness here is when they turn out the "dope light."
July 12, 2012
Finding a Page Turner
Ah, that rare thing, a page turner. That's what I'm always looking for. I've found many books that were wonderful, and I've read many books that had parts in it that were very interesting, but a page turner is only something I've found a few times in my life. One was Gone With the Wind. I was 9 yrs old when I read that and you couldn't tear me away from that book. I would turn my flash light on under the covers to hide the fact that I was reading from my mom. Another one was "At Some Forgotten Door." by Doris Miles Disney. It's out of print now, but trust me, it was a page turner. Another, more recent example is another book that is out of print called "Lost Girls," by Andrew Pyper. I couldn't put that thing down. It terrified me, so there I'd be, 3:00 in the morning, all the lights on in the house because I couldn't stop reading this book that terrified me.
Well, the other day I ran into another page turner. I'm not sure if this writer is self-published. His book is so good I was sure he must have been published by a big publisher like Harper Collins. Anyway, it was called "One More Victim." The author is Randy Attwood.
Two children rummage for treasures among the things in people's trash. Among the things they find in the back alley trash cans are Nazi war medals and photos of Nazi prison camp guards. This sets in motion the unfolding story of one more victim.
Well, the other day I ran into another page turner. I'm not sure if this writer is self-published. His book is so good I was sure he must have been published by a big publisher like Harper Collins. Anyway, it was called "One More Victim." The author is Randy Attwood.
Two children rummage for treasures among the things in people's trash. Among the things they find in the back alley trash cans are Nazi war medals and photos of Nazi prison camp guards. This sets in motion the unfolding story of one more victim.
