Austin Briggs's Blog, page 66
September 6, 2011
S.S. Manhattan Foyer. Genova, Italy June 1940
"Relatives?" The officer asked.
"No. Friends," David answered.
"No cabins. I have the lounge and the smoking room. Kids within, close to the boats."
David looked down at Larry's young daughter. "It will be fun like a camping trip. You like camping, right?"
"Five for the lounge please."
"Here are your cot numbers."
S.S. Manhattan Foyer. Genova, Italy June 1940 is a post from: Aztec Books
September 5, 2011
Radio Flyer
"You showed promise, son." Mr. Bain almost sounded sad.
Vince's face was shoved closer to the grinding center of the bright red wood chipper. Radio Flyer red, Vince thought. The smell of shredded pine took him back to his old wagon piled high with Christmas firewood. Holy Christ, don't let Bain send Ma any souvenirs.
Amy Ryding.
Radio Flyer is a post from: Aztec Books
Through A Child's Eye
"Lisa, that's too naive, even for you," said Ling to me.
I just smiled and left her looking incredulous at my decision.
Sometimes you have to listen to your inner child and let it guide your logical adult mind. Otherwise you might miss the wonders in life that only a child could appreciate.
Through A Child's Eye is a post from: Aztec Books
Becoming an Activist
The officer pushed me into the van holding my fellow demonstrators.
Once, a psychiatrist asked my earliest memory.
My mother was hanging sheets on the line. I saw a blimp and thought it was a bomb, I went ballistic. Mommy laughed. Her cheek was cool, comforting, like the sheets, blowing in the wind.
Becoming an Activist is a post from: Aztec Books
September 4, 2011
Love Has no Limits
"Love has no Limits" is a wonderful story, and I was sorry it ended so fast. I've signed up to read all of Vanessa's books.
Here are the things I particularly liked.
1. Elegance. In this age of self-edited, awkwardly worded novels, "No Limits" delighted me with simple, precise expressions that took me straight to the point. "Elegant" is the only way I can describe it. No unnecessary fluff. I was brought into the world of a young woman who explores her sexuality with engaging openness.
2. Sophistication. This is a clever book. Through several well-chosen encounters, I was allowed to gain insight into female sexuality that was, in my advanced age of late thirties, quite new to me. The action is fluid, absolutely explicit, and presented in the most intelligent way. I dare anyone to write a violent sex scene that's both exciting, terrifying, thought-provoking – and a pleasure to read. The soft humor added to my reading enjoyment immensely.
3. Vulnerability. I was initially dazzled by the protagonist's exploits, but soon realized how vulnerable she was. The book didn't seem to me about sex per se (although you get a lot of wonderfully presented, mostly explicit, and sometimes a little dreamy sex), it's about self-discovery and exploration. And that's what really gripped me, and what left such a profound impression on me.
I usually put at least one area where I believe the book could improve. In the case of "No Limits"… I just want more of it. The story feels very complete, so I'm not sure there will ever be a sequel; but I want another encounter with that young woman with her courage, her fears, and her intelligent, understated narrative.
Vanessa Wu has just become one of my favorite authors.
Love Has no Limits is a post from: Aztec Books
Winter on the Trail of Tears
"Bring me my knife!"
The mother had succumbed, but I might yet save her child.
I sliced damp layers of flesh, unveiling the still small body within. Bloody birthing sac clung to its nostrils.
I tore the film away, rubbed a finger on the tiny blue chest, and prayed.
Winter on the Trail of Tears is a post from: Aztec Books
September 3, 2011
Ready
My eyes open with the dawn. A delicate flower joins the greeting and the last drop of dew falls to my face. The first bee lands, dancing an intricate pattern in anticipation of sweet nectar and golden pollen. A vagrant breeze whispers its OM in my ear. I'm ready now. Let it come.
Ready is a post from: Aztec Books
Stranger
As you lay there on the cold damp floor.
I sat upon the bed staring in shock at your cold clammy face.
You looked at me with a silent stare, for your body was almost lifeless.
Wanting to forgive you for this selfish act, could I ever ? Your face said it all, "Someday".
Bernie Jenkins.
Stranger is a post from: Aztec Books
September 2, 2011
August 2011 Flash Story Contest Winners
I'd like to announce the winners of the August 2011 Flash Story contest. And what a month it was. I'm completely blown away with response: 27 wonderful flash story submitted!
I want to thank authors for sending in quality, well-edited pieces, and for following the prompt (even if loosely).
Anyway, let's talk business 
The prompt was "A Praying Man" (pictured here on the right).
Normally, there should be only one winner. However, because I really loved these stories, I decided to announce 3 winners today. I really have to put that donate button before I go under!
Here we go:
# 1: Overall Winner is Heather Boersma with "Strangled".
# 2: Best Imagery Winner is T. E. Samad with "Sounds from Above".
# 3: Strongest Emotion is Amy Knepper with "Birthday Wish".
The prize for the Overall Winner is the pre-announced $55; the other two winning prizes are $30 each.
I'll contact the winners by email to arrange the Paypal payment to them.
I'm truly, truly grateful to all authors and readers who stopped by to vote. Many thanks to all, and let's begin our September contest!
The prompt for September is:
Child Within
Child Within
Yours,
Austin.
August 2011 Flash Story Contest Winners is a post from: Aztec Books
Kindle Draw Winner
Exciting times. I've just selected the winner of the free Kindle draw among the first reviewers of "Five Dances with Death".
First, let's go through how the contest was run.
Late July I announced my contest on Twitter: a person who reads my book and posts a review on Amazon by Aug 31 will enter the free Kindle draw. At no point I implied that this must be a positive review; everyone had an equal chance to win.
Then I launched a broad advertising campaign:
Lots of Tweets (those were free)
Pay-per-click ads on FaceBook and GoodReads (those were surprisingly expensive, I must've gotten the payment algorithms wrong). They generated tons of clicks.
Posts on several threads in GoodReads and Kindle Boards
Free book giveaways via Smashwords, which turned out quite popular and didn't cost me a penny
Aggressive, if nicely worded, book distribution to various book review blogs and sites. Hopefully all of them were credible – I've ensured that every review site stated "positive reviews aren't guaranteed". Most of them ignored me. Some responded.
All in all, I received 26 reviews over the last 6 weeks of almost sleepless promotion, at least some of them as a direct result of this campaign. Although I did get one 3-star review and a number of 4-stars (I'm deeply grateful for those, too), the average score is 4.6 out of 5. I'm happy, humbled, thrilled… and most of all, grateful.
I'll share my learnings from this exhausting but rewarding campaign later. Let's get to today's announcement:
I selected the winner using the free service at http://random.org. Here's what I did:
Selected the "Random Sequence Generator" they use for lotteries
Entered the number of reviews received by Aug 31: "26″. Number 1 was assigned to the earliest review, Number 26 to the latest.
Run the random generator thrice, discarding the first 2 runs. It just felt right to run it three times.
Counted (and re-counted, to be sure) the winning review # from the bottom on Amazon.
I hope I've made my point by now: you know in full transparency that the draw was fair.
Now, to the winner:
It's NUMBER 12.
The revier's name is: K. Sozaeva "Obsessive bibliophile"
This result spooked the heck out of me. Katy joined the draw clearly stating her intent to win, through my Smashwords giveaway. She also recommended I use the Random Generator to run the lottery. Katy, admit it: you're psychic
And – congratulations!
I'll contact the winner via her GoodReads account to arrange the delivery of a brand-new Kindle!
Here's the screenie from the Random Generator. I cut the bottom part which isn't so relevant:
PS. For the heck of it, I'm finally going to buy a Kindle of my own. I've been reading on iPad till now.
Kindle Draw Winner is a post from: Aztec Books
