Rebecca Besser's Blog, page 25
October 27, 2018
Halloween Blitz – Hall of Twelve
The Hall of Twelve ebook by Rebecca Besser is free for Kindle October 27th-28th!
[image error] Click on cover art to visit title on Amazon!
Hall of Twelve by Rebecca Besser
Alter dimensional beings are released upon the Earth – a science experiment gone wrong – and they bring their pets with a ravenous thirst for blood and human meat.
The Beings take the humans they capture to the Hall of Twelve and let a roll of the dice decide their fate.
Author Rebecca Besser:
Author Rebecca Besser is the author of “Undead Drive-Thru, Undead Regeneration, Cursed Bounty, Twisted Pathways of Murder & Death, Hall of Twelve, the Zpoc Exception Series: Re-Civilize,” and “Nurse Blood (Limitless Publishing).” She’s also a graduate of the Institute of Children’s Literature. Her work has appeared in the Coshocton Tribune, Irish Story Playhouse, Spaceports & Spidersilk, joyful!, Soft Whispers, Illuminata, Common Threads, Golden Visions Magazine, Stories That Lift, Super Teacher Worksheets, Living Dead Press Presents Magazine (Iss. 1 & 2), FrightFest eMagazine, An Xmas Charity Ebook, The Stray Branch, and The Undead That Saved Christmas (Vol. 1 & 2) and the Signals From The Void charity anthologies. She has multiple stories in anthologies by Living Dead Press, Wicked East Press, Pill Hill Press, Hidden Thoughts Press, Knight Watch Press, Coscom Entertainment, Crowded Quarantine Publications, and Collaboration of the Dead (projects), and one (each) in an anthology by Post Mortem Press, NorGus Press, Evil Jester Press, Horrified Press, Atria Books (S&S Digital), and Nocturnal Press Publications. She also has a poem in an anthology by Naked Snake Press and a children’s poem in Oxford Ink Literature Reader 4 from Oxford University Press (India).
Her nonfiction children’s article about skydiving, written for her writing course with the Institute of Children’s Literature, was published by McGraw Hill for NY Assessments.
She’s also an editor and have edited: Dark Dreams: Tales of Terror, Dead Worlds 7: Undead Stories, and Book of Cannibals 2: The Hunger from Living Dead Press; Earth’s End from Wicked East Press; End of Days: An Apocalyptic Anthology (Vol. 4 & 5/co-edited) from Living Dead Press; and I’ve co-editing Feast or Famine (a zombie anthology).
When she’s not busy writing and/or editing, she’s formatting book covers, building/maintaining websites, and writing book reviews.
Halloween Blitz – Stone Cold Horror From the Stars
The Stone Cold Horror From the Stars ebook by Brent Abell is free for Kindle from October 27th-31st!
[image error] Click on the cover art to visit title on Amazon!
Stone Cold Horror from the Stars by Brent Abell
Something has crashed in the woods outside of Whitman. Dave Hardy finds the smooth white rock and drawing a face on the perfectly round stone, gives it to his son Kevin as a birthday gift. But the pet rock is growing and devouring everything in its path. Soon, the town of Whitman will face the crushing force of a pet rock from space. Can Dave and Kevin stop the pet rock’s path of destruction?
Author Brent Abell:
Brent Abell resides in Southern Indiana with his wife, sons, and the spirit of his beloved pug who still hangs out at his desk looking for treats. Brent enjoys anything horror related. In his writing career, he’s had stories featured in over 30 publications from multiple presses. His books Southern Devils, Southern Devils: Reconstruction of the Dead, In Memoriam, The Calling, Dying Days: Death Sentence (set in Armand Rosamilia’s Dying Days Universe), Death Inc., and Wicked Tales for Wicked People short story collection is available now. He is also co-author of the horror-comedy Hellmouth series. Currently, he is working on the third book in the Southern Devils series and the next book in the White Creek Cycle. You can hang out with him at http://brentabell.com for some rum and a good cigar.
Halloween Blitz – The Lurking Collection
The Lurking Collection ebook by Jaidis Shaw is on sale for $0.99 until November 1st!
[image error] Click on the cover art to visit title on Amazon!
The Lurking Collection by Jaidis Shaw
Is the sacrifice worth the reward?
The Reluctant Seamstress is an outcast among her people. Cursed to never set foot on land, she swims in the dark depths below the ocean’s surface. Now her life depends on making the perfect suit for her master. The only problem is that everyone knows human flesh is a fickle material.
Some family traditions must come to an end.
The House on Juniper Lane had always been a mystery. After a family was violently slain within its walls, it quickly became an attraction for teens looking for a thrill. It was just an empty house to Grace. So when the hottest guy in school wanted to take her there, she accepted. It was all fun and games until she woke up tied to a chair.
One night will change her life forever.
Blind Justice is what she provides. Molly wasn’t going to let blindness stop her from holding psychological criminals accountable for their actions. Now the bodies are piling up and Molly must identify the killer before her own secrets are brought to light and she becomes the next victim.
October 26, 2018
Halloween Blitz – Dying Days: Death Sentence
The Dying Days: Death Sentence ebook by Brent Abell is on sale from $0.99 from October 27th-31st!
[image error] Click on the cover art to visit title on Amazon!
Dying Days: Death Sentence by Brent Abell
It is the end of the world as we know it. Humanity has fallen victim to the ravages of a virus that leaves nothing in its wake, but the dead and the undead. The survivors are scattered and splintered in a new world where the living are hunted and must fight for the ability to exist. The undead are legion and they are spreading.
Florida is a hotbed of the zombie infection. The dead are exhibiting strange behaviors and are part of a southern migration complicating life for those who fight to survive.
George Harrison is one of those survivors.
He will journey across an apocalyptic wasteland where sometimes the dead aren’t the only enemy.
Set in Armand Rosamilia’s Dying Days world, Dying Days: Death Sentence weaves new threads into the sprawling Dying Days tapestry and opens new doors into the dead new world.
Author Brent Abell:
Brent Abell resides in Southern Indiana with his wife, sons, and the spirit of his beloved pug who still hangs out at his desk looking for treats. Brent enjoys anything horror related. In his writing career, he’s had stories featured in over 30 publications from multiple presses. His books Southern Devils, Southern Devils: Reconstruction of the Dead, In Memoriam, The Calling, Dying Days: Death Sentence (set in Armand Rosamilia’s Dying Days Universe), Death Inc., and Wicked Tales for Wicked People short story collection is available now. He is also co-author of the horror-comedy Hellmouth series. Currently, he is working on the third book in the Southern Devils series and the next book in the White Creek Cycle. You can hang out with him at http://brentabell.com for some rum and a good cigar.
Halloween Blitz – Nurse Blood
The Nurse Blood ebook by Rebecca Besser is on sale for $0.99 from October 26th-30th as part of Limitless Publishing’s Halloween Sale!
[image error] Click on cover art to visit title on Amazon!
Nurse Blood by Rebecca Besser
Sonya Garret roams the bar scene hoping to steal the heart of an unsuspecting victim—literally…
Sonya, better known as Nurse Blood, is part of a team of lethal organ harvesters who seek out the weak to seduce, kill, and part out for profit on the black market. When Sonya meets Daniel McCoy, a young man recovering from a broken engagement, he’s just another kill to line her pockets with quick cash.
Agent David McCoy vows to find out how and why his twin brother Daniel disappeared…
Daniel’s body hasn’t been found, and the leads are slim to none, but it won’t stop David from dedicating his life to solving his brother’s case. When the evidence finally uncovers the shocking truth that Daniel’s disappearance is linked to organ harvesters, David knows his brother is most likely dead. But he’s determined to stop the villains’ killing spree before they strike again.
One last harvest is all Sonya and her team need to put their murderous past behind them…
A family with the rarest blood type in the world is the only thing standing between Sonya and retirement. David McCoy and the FBI are hot on their trail, though, and multiple targets make this the most complicated harvest yet. Will David unravel Sonya’s wicked plans in time to avenge his brother and save an innocent family? Or will Sonya cash in her final kill and escape for good?
Murder for profit stops for no man when you’re Nurse Blood.
Limitless Publishing also has other titles on sale on these dates! Check out their titles on Amazon to find others.
Halloween Blitz – Horror Books
From now until Halloween, I’ll be sharing horror books that are on sale or free by myself and other great writers!
Keep your eyes peeled for scary horror book deals.
Authors featured in Halloween Blitz:
Mark Taylor
Monique Snyman
Brent Abell
Rebecca Besser
Jaidis Shaw
Armand Rosamilia (and others in anthology!)
If you haven’t read anything by these authors (or you have and already love them) this is a great time to get your bloody hands on their deadly works!
Enjoy the deals, and be sure to share with your horror loving friends!
April 2, 2018
Now Available – Re-Civilize: Book 3 – Liam
Re-Civilize: Book 3 – Liam
is now available!
[image error] Click on cover pic to visit title on Amazon!
Liam earned a full scholarship and escaped the small town of his birth. When his father passes away, he’s sucked back into the life he’d worked so hard to leave behind.
Reluctantly he leaves school and travels home to the farm he grew up on. The farm where working with his hands was worth more than the knowledge he garnered from the books he read to escape reality.
He tries to help his mother settle his father’s estate and plan the funeral despite her emotional guilty trips, but things go horribly wrong in a short span of time. In a last attempt to do something right and ease his guilt, he heads back to school to try and rescue his girlfriend, Stella. But everything has changed in the world beyond the vacant acres he’s been protected by while dealing with his home life.
The world as he knew it has crumbled into something unbelievable. Zombies have taken over and ripped society to shreds…literally. Making it back to Stella becomes impossible.
When he realizes the futility of his journey, he’s forced to a safe zone to preserve his life. Once there, Liam has to make a decision that will change the course of his life forever.
Copyright © Rebecca Besser, 2018. All rights reserved.
March 27, 2018
What is Horror? by Rebecca Besser
By Rebecca Besser
If you do some research on what horror is, you’ll discover horror is the revulsion one feels when something terrible happens. That it follows terror, which is the anxiety and anticipation of something bad about to happen.
“The difference between Terror and Horror is the difference between awful apprehension and sickening realization: between the smell of death and stumbling against a corpse.” – Devendra Varma in The Gothic Flame (1966).
There are many vehicles in which horror is found: film, literature, art, etc. All of which use a mixture of terror and horror elements.
When people hear the word horror, they generally think about creatures such as vampires, zombies, demons, and other monsters. They also think about blood, pain, misery, and torture – psychological horror. The common denominator in all horror is death.
Death is the most terrifying thing that anyone can face – either their own demise or of someone they care about. Often, even a stranger’s death, seen up close, can impact someone in ways they never dreamed possible; it forces them to face the fact that they will die someday and there is nothing they can do about it.
Death, and what leads to death, scares everyone in some way whether they realize it or not. That’s the base root of all horror. Terror is what we feel leading up to the death we know is coming and horror is what we face when we are toe to toe with death.
What form of death scares you the most? Chances are that’s the kind of horror you like to experience the most, because it gives you that thrill of terror and most satisfying horror moments as it all pans out.
©Rebecca Besser, 2015 & 2017. All rights reserved.
March 21, 2018
Professional Behavior – Part 4 of 4
[Note: This article previously appeared in my newsletter. If you would like to sign up for my newsletter, send an email to projects-@-rebeccabesser.com (without the – around the @), with the email address you would like the bio-monthly PDF sent to in the body.]
By now, if you’ve read all three previous parts of my Professionalism Series, you’re probably thinking a fourth part on Professional Behavior is overkill. But it’s not. There’s no way that I’ve covered everything in just those three articles. Yes, I’ve explained what a Professional is. I’ve explained how one should communicate in Professional Practices. And I’ve even presented the importance of Professional Presentation in the world. So, why would I need a part on Professional Behavior when I’ve already explained all of that?
Because there’s a lot of personal, emotional conflict that a writer deals with all the time that can set one off and cause them to behave in ways they shouldn’t and do things they’ll later regret. That’s just how being human and dealing with life is, especially for a writer. You, as a writer, need to learn to get those feelings under control and keep yourself from doing the wrong things for your professional career.
That being said, I will be touching on some of the topics I’ve explored previously, but with more depth.
Let’s start with rejection. Writers spend a lot of time and energy on any piece of their work. There are countless hours of plotting, executing, and reworking. This makes it incredibly emotion for a writer to submit their piece/manuscript to anyone, for fear of rejection. And, the rejection comes to us all. It’s hard not to feel like its personal, because, yes, it’s personal to you.
But rejections aren’t personal to editors, agents, or presses. They’re just business. To some that might seem cold, but it’s the way things are. Like it or not, that’s the industry as it is.
So, when you do get rejections, do not lash out with hateful emails of go running your internet mouth on social media, screaming that the editor/agent/press is delusional or doesn’t know good writing when they see it; that just makes you look bad and hurts you professionally. Chances are, if your writing is as good as you think it is, they didn’t want to pass on what you sent, but had to for other reasons.
You don’t know what’s going on beyond other computer screens. You don’t see the piles of manuscripts waiting for responses or the email accounts flooded with other submissions. You aren’t the one that has to make the choices of what’s going to sell best or will represent the publication in the most effective way. Those decisions are hard to make.
If you’re displeased with the response you’ve gotten about a submission in any way, it is not okay to go over the head of someone you’re dealing with, just because you’ve gotten a rejection. It just makes you look stupid, and makes people not want to work with you. No one likes people who try to start drama or cause them personal trouble.
[Note: Agent queries are different, as far as one passing on the project and querying another at the same agency. This is completely acceptable.]
Here’s a short example from my editing past:
I was editing an anthology and someone sent me a story. I read it and rejected it. Why? The story was okay, but there were a bunch of plot holes and there were things that didn’t support the stories concept overall—just inconsistencies that made the story not make sense. The author contacted the owner of the press I was working with and told them I was delusional. The owner contacted me and asked me about the story. I told him everything that was wrong with it. We did not use the story. The author’s attempt to go above my head failed, because there were reasons I rejected it.
The funny thing is, the author who believed me to be delusional, sent me a friend request on social media about a year or so later. Me, finding it all pretty amusing, accepted. We’ve not interacted much, and I’ll never knowingly work with said author. That means, even if I know about an invite only project or a special open call, I won’t take the time to ever tell that author about it. Why? Because I won’t back them with my name as even an indirect reference. I don’t care what the author thought of me, but I thought it was completely unprofessional of them to try and get me in the middle of something that wasn’t my fault and I knew I was right about.
You’re probably wondering why I did let the author into my social media circle… Well, I hope maybe they’d learn something. Heck, I hope they read this series and learn how to be more professional in the future. We all make mistakes and we can all learn to do better. That is my hope with this series, that I can steer authors in the right direction to be more successful by being more professional.
Moving on…
Reviews are another area where authors have emotional turmoil and tend to backtalk or backlash.
Face it, not everyone is going to like your writing. Not everyone is going to love your book/story. Yes, people will point out your flaws publically. No, they don’t hate you. Yes, they feel cheated because they spent money to buy your book/story and wasted time reading something that wasn’t that great. The reasons for bad reviews are usually either there were actually issues with the book/story or because it just wasn’t for them. Usually, the “just wasn’t for them” people don’t get as mean.
You will get bad reviews, because it’s not possible to get all good ones.
No one is out to make you cry. Readers and reviewers are not your enemies. When and if they tell you there are issues with your book/story, listen! Don’t get all huffy and pissed off. Whatever you do, don’t insult them or be rude to them. If a review bothers you so much that you are overwhelmed with emotion, whatever you do, do not respond by commenting on it, or telling the person off! That’s very unprofessional.
If anything, you should take the time to thank them for reading your work. That is professional! After all, they took the time to read your book/story, and they took the time to write and post a review. More than eighty percent of your readers won’t do that for you, ever!
Here’s how you should think of it…
Did they read your book? Yes! Plus for you, you have a reader.
Did they review your book? Yes! You have a reviewer!
Did they tell you exactly what they didn’t like about your book? Yes! You have feedback! And honest feedback from readers/reviewers is one of the hardest things for writers to get. Value it, even if it doesn’t stroke your little pansy ego.
And beyond the pluses of it all, there are just mean-hearted people in the world who want to drag you down and make you miserable.
Why? Who knows! It could be because they are one of those constantly miserable people who need company in the pits of Asshole-ville. Don’t move to Asshole-ville to be their neighbor. Ignore these people because they aren’t worth your time and attention.
Before you start whining about bad reviews ruining your book sale, you should know that a couple bad reviews are actually good for book sales! If people even consider the reviews before buying your book, the fact that you have one or two people who don’t rave about your book/story like lustful, worshipping groupies will make your reviews seem more “real.” Often, people think the best reviews are left by your family and friends. So, a couple haters can do you good.
Besides, if you’re considering purchasing something, don’t you want to know the good aspects and the bad ones so you can make an informed decision? Think of it that way. There’s an opinion at both ends of the spectrum, which means the product most likely lands in the middle.
If you’re getting all bad reviews, it’s time to take a look at your work and see what you can do to improve it. It’s disheartening, but sometimes writers need to rework their book/story to make it better for the readers. Especially now that it’s so easy to self-publish—there are a lot of books/stories in easy reach of the public that have never been through a thorough, professional edit. That can really hurt book sales.
At no time ever should you go on Amazon or anywhere else and leave comments to reviews of your books/stories. If you want to thank someone, do it in private. People’s reviews are their opinions. You should not try to explain your book/story to them or convince them they are wrong because they didn’t like or understand your story.
What you should take away from reviews overall is how your book/story was perceived by a variety of people. Everyone sees and processes things differently, especially writing. Chances are though, if you get a lot of people making the same comments, there’s an issue there that you need to work on as you move forward with your future works.
Use reviews for insight and stop seeing them as personal attacks.
Do not respond like they are personal attacks.
Speaking of personal attacks, you control how you respond and how other people treat you. You don’t want to lead them into attacking you by letting your emotions drive how you deal with the public, i.e. attacking them.
Something very important for Professional Behavior is that you set the tone for the people around you. You set the tone for what you’ll allow, accept, and deal with. Be it on social media, your blog, or anywhere else you deal with the public in general.
What do I mean by this?
I mean that if you allow people to attack you and/or you argue with them, you’re showing people that you allow that behavior around you, that you embrace it. You should never get into a public argument with anyone, about anything. This messes up your Professional Presentation and has no place in your Professional Behavior. Think cause and effect. Most of the time, when people lash out, they feel like they’re defending themselves. Don’t give them reason to feel like they’re defending themselves from you.
So, how should you handle those situations of conflict? Cut them out.
First, be polite and try to defuse the situation by saying everyone has a right to their opinion. But, if the person continues to do the same things (causing conflict), block them, unfollow them, and/or ban them from your web-space. I don’t care if you like the person most of the time. As a professional, you don’t have time to deal with people’s troll-like behavior. And, if they wanted you to be considerate of them, they should have been considerate of you. Allowing them to continue with their ill-mannered behavior causes other who sees it to lose respect for you. By allowing them to continue to do so, you are telling other people that they don’t’ have to respect you either.
Be strong and set the behavioral tone around you to match your desired professionalism.
You control your Professional Behavior by how you act in every situation—especially those emotional situations that are difficult. You also control how others act around and toward you by what you allow. Let the way you act be an example to all of a true Professional.
©Rebecca Besser, 2014. All rights reserved.
March 14, 2018
Professional Presentation – Part 3 of 4
So far in this series I’ve covered what being a Professional means, and how to exercise Professional Practices. Now I’m going talk about Professional Presentation.
What I mean by Professional Presentation is what you show the world. This will be beyond your social media interaction, but it also includes it to an extent. I’m talking about a blog or website, something of your own that represents you. It’s getting to the point worldwide that you don’t look professional if you don’t have a website someone can visit. People will be suspicious of you not being the “real deal” or a fraud out to take them for whatever you can get from them if you don’t have a professional web-space – blog/website.
Don’t believe me? How many times have you gone to look for something online only to find no solid web-space for the person or company, so you don’t take them as seriously?
Most businesses have websites or pages on Facebook, or even Twitter accounts, where they can communicate and interact with the public, even if it’s just for coupons and sales. In that type of market and informational structure, how can you afford not to have something cyber-solid that people can visit about you? Don’t you want to get your name out in the world? What professional wants to stay hidden?
Having said that… I’ve been disappointed about literary agents and their websites or lack thereof. Most agencies have a website, but a good number of literary agents don’t even have a blog, let alone a website. This, to me, showed a lack of professionalism on their part. How are authors supposed to submit manuscripts to them? How are authors supposed to know what they are looking for and what format they are interested in? Their lack of professionalism makes it almost impossible for authors to be professional with them.
Having web-space gives people information. If you’re an author, it tells people about your books and where they can find them. It also gives contact information, so that other professionals can contact you about projects and working together. Without that, you miss out on a lot of opportunities.
You may be thinking that you can’t afford web-space or you don’t have time to maintain it. But, both are not true. You can get a free blog with Blogger or WordPress that is easy to maintain. Heck, even if you post something on your blog twice a month, that’s better than nothing at all. And, at that rate you’ll have at least twenty-four posts in a year – sounds better and better, doesn’t it? Plus, there are simple ways to feed your blog to your Facebook, Twitter, GoodReads, and Amazon profiles automatically! That means, you post on your blog and it feeds out to everywhere someone could possibly be seeing you on the web if you have yourself out there to be found.
Websites can be a bit more complicated, but WordPress sites aren’t too hard. If you have a handle on them blog wise, handling them as a website is easy.
You could also pay someone to build you a website, or you can take the time to become somewhat tech savvy and buy software that helps you build a website. They range from $50+. There are also Domain Hosts like GoDaddy who not only sell you a domain at a reasonable price, but a blog comes with it, and they have tools built in to help you build your site with templates!
Honestly, websites aren’t nearly as complicated as they used to be. All it takes is a little bit of time and research to know what’s right for you. Blogs are simple, so you if you aren’t “techy” that’s where I would suggest you start.
[Here’s a great three part article I’ve read recently that helps explain what an author’s website needs to be successful, and other tips: http://literary-agents.com/author-website/]
Your web-space should be a place to show your Professional Presentation, meaning you should have decent photos of yourself, if not professional ones. You should strive your very best to make sure your posts/pages are proofread and they are absolutely the best they can be. Also, it shouldn’t be the main place for public rants and temper tantrums – people will not take you seriously if you behave like a ranting ex-wife (see Part 2 of this series: Professional Practices). This should be where you post informed, intelligent articles about whatever you want to talk about, which should, for the most part, be about your writing. It’s your professional space after all.
You do need to be yourself though, as much as possible. There are millions of people in the world, but only one you. True fans will follow you, but you don’t want to be intentionally abrasive, because writing is a business, at least, if you ever want to sell any books. If you don’t, feel free to keep sitting in the dark corner and don’t bother wasting your time on a website that no one will want to visit. No one likes assholes. The web-space is about Professional Presentation, not about your personal life or butt-hurt over random things in life.
[Note: If you want to post pictures or anything else about your pets and your family, they should be contained on a personal blog or web-space, not your professional area. Professional areas are for business and advancing your career.]
Even though your web-space is as professional as you can make it, there will still be internet trolls who seek to make everyone’s lives miserable and ugly. In light of this, continue your professionalism by not having their crap smeared across your web-space: make it so all comments have to be approved by you before they go live. This will keep the attention whores to a minimum and hopefully keep people who want to argue just to argue away from you. But, it’s the internet, so they will always be around; it’s your job not to give them a place around you.
Speaking of which, do not engage in a public argument on your web-space! This makes you look as petty as the one who started the commotion. Let things go that will do nothing but damage you or waste your time needlessly about things that don’t matter.
Professional Presentation will take time to start up and build, but it will be worth it in the end. You will look more professional, and more people will want to work with you. If you’re striving to be more professional, put your best foot forward for the world to see.
©Rebecca Besser, 2014. All rights reserved.
![[image error]](https://rebeccabesser.files.wordpress.com/2018/10/image_6483441.jpg){kind=link}
![[image error]](https://rebeccabesser.files.wordpress.com/2018/10/halloween-blitz-banner.jpg){kind=link}