Kathleen Patel's Blog, page 6

The Black Witch- book review and interview

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As I started reading 'The Black Witch', I was transported to another time and place.    As I met the characters and followed them on their journey, I was drawn in by their idiosyncrasies and flaws. And then the subsequent nightmare than ensued...
Dorian Coe and his wife, Diana are the first to discover 'The Black Witch', while shopping around for a sailing vessel.  They are immediately put under her spell and are willing to sacrifice their life savings to have her.  It's an evil spell that no one can resist. The scenes are so vividly depicted; I almost fell under the spell myself.
When Dorian tells his friend Gale about his 'find', and brings him to see the vessel, he is inexplicably drawn to her, as well.  Obsession sets in.  They must have her.  Even with the dire warnings given in the logbooks- nothing matters but 'The Black Witch'.
They invite a group of friends to join them as passengers to celebrate The Black Witch's first launch. They head out into the mysterious open sea. It isn't long before pure evil rears its ugly head. Slowly each horrified passenger comes to the realization that they are doomed and there is nothing they can do about it.  Even the woman with strange powers is no match for the powerful force driving 'The Black Witch'.
Interview with the author- Micheal Rivers
There are so many intricate details describing the 'Black Witch'.  Are you a sailing man yourself?
A: I grew up on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. I have always had a great love for tall ships. For me they hold a beauty like no other.
Was there any personal inspiration for this story?
A: The inspiration for The Black Witch came from a culmination of the character of the Bankers (residents of the Outer Banks) and a long and hard won sense of pride. Tales of the sea are not uncommon there with superstitions and spirits to fill the stories that are passed from generation to generation.
Do you believe in psychic ability and astral projection?
A: I do believe in psychic abilities but I am still looking into Astral Projection. I have known several people who had abilities that were beyond question. A family I know well lost 13 members of their family in four months. These deaths ranged from SIDS to heart attacks and cancer. The woman predicted all of them by name except for one. She said she could not see the face of the unnamed person.I really enjoyed your writing and I can't believe that this was your debut novel.  Whenever I read a book with such intense imagery, I am always in awe.  Do you have a special process that you go through when writing? 
A: Yes I do. I set up my story board before I ever do an actual outline. At this point a Pepsi and a cigarette come into play and the story starts to roll. The outline is basic and changes as the story progresses. I found for me, sticking to a singular outline, or thought does not let my story take a life of its own. The story has full control of the outcome.
This is a book that should be made into a movie.  Have you considered selling the screen rights?
A: If anyone was interested in putting the story on screen I would be honored. At this time I have not been approached with an offer.
I can't wait to read your other books, but I would love to know what happens next!  Any chance of a sequel?
A: I am going to be doing a sequel to The Black Witch. I have had a lot of readers request it so I will grant their wish. I thank them for requesting it. To me that is a great compliment. Surprise!!! I am actually working on the sequel now. The main character is named Drummond Fowl.


Buy 'The Black Witch' here.  
Follow Micheal on Twitter here.   
Visit Micheal's website here.

Amazon- the biggest bully of all?

Amazon has forced me to unpublish my book ‘The Bullying Epidemic-the guide to arm you for the fight’.
They claimed that there was information in the book that was available for free elsewhere on the web.  
I explained that my book is a guide to help parents, teachers & students with the problem of bullying. In writing this book, I researched the experts in this field, specialists in child psychology and other professionals that have dedicated their careers to this growing problem. 
There are guides to recognize bullying behavior, in both the target, as well as the bully. There is a list of the various types of bullying, and an interactive exercise that can be done with students/children.  I have included a step by step guide of what to do when you discover a bullying scenario. This is in addition to other valuable information that I have discovered.   I have listed all of my sources, along with their websites. 
There is also a collection of organizations and websites that can help with bullying, suicide prevention, civil rights violations, LGBT and many other areas of support.
This is a convenient guide, filled with valuable resources. I have always offered this free of charge, as a public service.  
Since Amazon also threatened to terminate my account, so that I couldn't sell any of my books, I reluctantly unpublished this book.  I hope that they will allow me to republish the book because I believe it can help many.  Even if it only helped one child, I would be delighted.
Luckily, you can still get the book here: 
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/108799 









Photo compliments of http://www.flickr.com/photos/pointsho...

Begin with Yes~ Paul S Boynton- Review

When I found the ‘Begin with Yes’ Facebook page, I was smitten. So much wisdom, so much beauty- what a wonderful surprise. I had to know more. Who is behind ‘Begin with Yes’? I dug deeper and found a website.
There was a book!
I had to have it and I really wanted to interview the author. Who was behind all of this? What kind of dazzling spirit could have created this?
His name is Paul Boynton.
If you are looking for a way to make your dreams come true: Look no further. ‘Begin with Yes’ is a powerful book. The principles are simple, concise, and brilliant.
This is beyond the ‘Law of Attraction’. 
To quote the magnificent Mr. Boynton, “The secret to a good life is less about having a positive attitude and more about taking positive actions.”
Moreover, this book will illustrate, step-by-step, how to move towards your dreams, in a logical fashion.

"New realities are manifested by a clear vision, focus, hard work and a little faith. Identify a dream you’ve almost given up on and reactivate it today by taking small steps in that direction."
Find the book here

Could it be? Does Amazon really love Indies?

Love, Amazon

Okay, that's not really from Amazon, but I wish it was!
I, along with many of my fellow indie authors have been feeling disappointed with Amazon.  
KDP let us down.
It seemed that the party was over.  Many of us started to believe that Amazon no longer cared about us.  The love was gone.However, today when I opened my browser and typed in amazon.com, something was different.  There was a letter from Jeff Bezos, the Founder & CEO.   It was about Jessica Park, an author who had previously published the “old fashioned” way, but had now gone indie.  There were links to her blog, telling her story- with glowing words of love for KDP.  In fact, the post is titled, ‘How Amazon Saved My Life’.   Wow!And then Jeff wrote that ,” KDP is already meaningful--22 of our top 100 best-selling Kindle books so far this year are KDP books--and more great stories are being published every day.”
I am feeling particularly vulnerable. I want to believe that Jeff is not toying with our emotions. 
But my logical side has to ask:  Is this a clever marketing ploy that promotes KDP, persuades readers to buy more Indie titles, and as a bonus- tries to “make nice” with Indies?  
Or, maybe Jeff and the folks at Amazon realized that they were taking us for granted and want to make it up to us, before we all jumped ship.  
What do you think?

I'm so honored- the famous author, Amy Manemann, interviewed me!

An Interview With.....Author Kathleen Patel!!

 

Fellow midwesterner and author friend, Kathleen Patel, stopped by to visit about her books,The Dolls & Hiren's Magical Adventure.
~*~*~*~*~ (This is courtesy of Amy Manemann-  Her website: www.amymanemann.webs.com)
A - Where are you originally from?
K - I was born & raised in Chicago. Although I have lived on both coasts, I always return to my Midwestern roots.



What inspired you to become a writer? 


As I remember it, the minute I learned to read, that was it. It was the most exciting thing that ever happened to me. Reading was a gateway to new worlds. I wanted to be able to open new worlds for others.

What is/are your favorite genre(s)? 


I have very eclectic taste, but I have a soft spot for the paranormal.


Are you currently reading anything? 


I’m always reading at least three books. Currently, I am reading ‘Megan’s Way’, by Melissa Foster, ‘The Havenshire Resistance’ by Diane Rapp and ‘Wake up and Dream’ by Dr. Barbara Lavi


Who or what is the driving force that keeps you going? 

I believe it is my destiny. (Wow- that sounded dramatic : ) 


It feels right. I worked as a sales executive in Manhattan and then Chicago, for many years. That left little time or energy to devote to writing. Thankfully, we left the rat race and now own a small family business in suburbs of Chicago. I have more flexibility in my schedule; more time to devote to my writing.




How do you balance your personal life with your writing career? 


I’m working on that. The business aspect of being an author eats up a lot of my time. I really need to schedule more time to write.



Tell us about your book. 


My latest book, ‘The Dolls’ is a paranormal/horror. It was just recently revised and professionally edited. When I published the book initially, a reviewer pointed out a couple of typo’s (embarrassing), so I decided to’ bite the bullet’ and hire a professional to edit the book. I had to cut back on groceries- but I fit it into my budget : )   it was the best thing I could have done. I ended up expanding the story and even changed the ending. 

The inspiration for this book actually came from a vacation in the Costa del Sol, Spain. My cousin, Mary, and I had a crazy time. Things happened to us that you only see in movies. The book is a work of fiction, but…

My first book, ‘Hiren’s Magical Adventure’ is a tween to young adult, paranormal, mystery. This fable unfolds in in India. A teenager named Hiren visits his grandparents for the summer. Nothing could have prepared him for this strange world filled with magic and mystery. He encounters exotic creatures, a forbidden jungle, and a ghost that haunts the eerie palace. He meets a mysterious girl who leads him closer to the secrets. He finds himself facing life-threatening danger in his quest to solve the family mystery.

This book is based on some factual events that happened to my husband, growing up in India. There might be a little fiction thrown in for fun ; )  I was so happy with the editing done with ‘The Dolls’, I decided to do the same with this book. So now, I have a new and improved version that I have just released.


What made you decide to write your book? 


For ‘The Dolls’, it was my cousin, Mary O’Donnell. Through all of our drama, she kept telling me, “You’ve got to write a book about this!”


‘Hiren’s Magical Adventure’ came together when I spent a couple of months in India. It truly is a different world. I had some intense experiences. Even with all the differences, I realized that deep down inside, people are so much alike. It’s a revelation.  



Where can people find you and your work on the web?

This is my Amazon page: http://amzn.to/LvpbVi


This is my blog: http://anirishpatel.blogspot.com/

You can follow me on Twitter here:  http://bit.ly/IPytLm




~*~*~*~*~

Kathleen, as always, it's been a treat working with you! Thank you for stopping by to share your books and life with us. I wish you all the very best in your future endeavors.

Gripping interview with...yours truly. Thank you @AmyManemann : ))

 go after yo d]


An Interview With.....Author Kathleen Patel!!

 

Fellow midwesterner and author friend, Kathleen Patel, stopped by to visit about her books,The Dolls & Hiren's Magical Adventure.
~*~*~*~*~ (This is courtesy of Amy Manemann-  Her website: www.amymanemann.webs.com)
A - Where are you originally from?
K - I was born & raised in Chicago. Although I have lived on both coasts, I always return to my Midwestern roots.



What inspired you to become a writer? 


As I remember it, the minute I learned to read, that was it. It was the most exciting thing that ever happened to me. Reading was a gateway to new worlds. I wanted to be able to open new worlds for others.

What is/are your favorite genre(s)? 


I have very eclectic taste, but I have a soft spot for the paranormal.


Are you currently reading anything? 


I’m always reading at least three books. Currently, I am reading ‘Megan’s Way’, by Melissa Foster, ‘The Havenshire Resistance’ by Diane Rapp and ‘Wake up and Dream’ by Dr. Barbara Lavi


Who or what is the driving force that keeps you going? 

I believe it is my destiny. (Wow- that sounded dramatic : ) 


It feels right. I worked as a sales executive in Manhattan and then Chicago, for many years. That left little time or energy to devote to writing. Thankfully, we left the rat race and now own a small family business in suburbs of Chicago. I have more flexibility in my schedule; more time to devote to my writing.




How do you balance your personal life with your writing career? 


I’m working on that. The business aspect of being an author eats up a lot of my time. I really need to schedule more time to write.



Tell us about your book. 


My latest book, ‘The Dolls’ is a paranormal/horror. It was just recently revised and professionally edited. When I published the book initially, a reviewer pointed out a couple of typo’s (embarrassing), so I decided to’ bite the bullet’ and hire a professional to edit the book. I had to cut back on groceries- but I fit it into my budget : )   it was the best thing I could have done. I ended up expanding the story and even changed the ending. 

The inspiration for this book actually came from a vacation in the Costa del Sol, Spain. My cousin, Mary, and I had a crazy time. Things happened to us that you only see in movies. The book is a work of fiction, but…

My first book, ‘Hiren’s Magical Adventure’ is a tween to young adult, paranormal, mystery. This fable unfolds in in India. A teenager named Hiren visits his grandparents for the summer. Nothing could have prepared him for this strange world filled with magic and mystery. He encounters exotic creatures, a forbidden jungle, and a ghost that haunts the eerie palace. He meets a mysterious girl who leads him closer to the secrets. He finds himself facing life-threatening danger in his quest to solve the family mystery.

This book is based on some factual events that happened to my husband, growing up in India. There might be a little fiction thrown in for fun ; )  I was so happy with the editing done with ‘The Dolls’, I decided to do the same with this book. So now, I have a new and improved version that I have just released.


What made you decide to write your book? 


For ‘The Dolls’, it was my cousin, Mary O’Donnell. Through all of our drama, she kept telling me, “You’ve got to write a book about this!”


‘Hiren’s Magical Adventure’ came together when I spent a couple of months in India. It truly is a different world. I had some intense experiences. Even with all the differences, I realized that deep down inside, people are so much alike. It’s a revelation.  



Where can people find you and your work on the web?

This is my Amazon page: http://amzn.to/LvpbVi


This is my blog: http://anirishpatel.blogspot.com/

You can follow me on Twitter here:  http://bit.ly/IPytLm




~*~*~*~*~

Kathleen, as always, it's been a treat working with you! Thank you for stopping by to share your books and life with us. I wish you all the very best in your future endeavors.

The Sunshine Award

It gives me great pleasure to announce that Constance Wallace from http://legendsofgreenisle.com/has presented me with the Sunshine Award. I am humbled. To receive this award and to be included on a list of such incredibly talented writers is humbling.
As a recipient for the Sunshine Award, I have to answer the following questions:
Favorite number:  Seven. There is just something about it…Favorite Non-alcoholic drink:  Iced coffee with coconut milk. It is my favorite morning drink when the weather starts getting warm.Facebook or Twitter: I started out on Facebook, but I find myself spending more time on Twitter. .My Passion: I am passionate about my causes. Whether it is the anti-bullying campaign of working for an organization to stop some incident of child or animal abuse- I am compelled to give a voice to those who have none.Favorite pattern: I think it would have to be a leopard’s coat. The pattern is so intricate and unique.Favorite Day of the Week: Saturday. It spells carefree fun for me.Favorite Flower: I love Gladiolas.
Now I must nominate 10 fellow bloggers to be the next Sunshine recipients


1. Diane Rapp http://www.quicksilvernovels.com
2. Missy Frye http://www.missyfrye.wordpress.co
3. GE Johnson http://www.gejohnsonmedia.com/
4  Micheal Rivers: http://michealrivers.com/
5. Michael Lorde: http://michaelordeauthor.blogspot.com/
6. Eileen CCampos: http://www.mommyteaches.com/
7. Rachelle Ayala: http://www.rachelleayala.com/
8. D.A. Graystone: http://www.dagraystone.com/
9.  Matt Patterson http://mattpatterson.me/
10 Carolyn Arnold http://sassy3421.blogspot.com/
I have anguished over whom to choose. So many talented writers, so little time... After much deliberation, I chose these ten special people. They are awesome! Please stop by and visit them and tell them I said, “Hello”
Than you must pass on your crowns, so to speak. You must find 10 deserving candidates and award them with this glorious ‘Sunshine Award’.

Interview with Melissa Foster, Best Selling Author of ‘Megan’s Way’

K-Thank you so much for joining us. I am delighted to do this interview. I have so many questions.  First, let me make sure I have all the facts. You are an award-winning author of three novels. You are the founder of the World Literary Café, where you mentor and support other writers. You also founded the Women's Nest, a social and support community for women, and your newest venture, Fostering Success. In addition, you are a wife and mother to six children. Did I miss anything?
M- Wow, I sound busy, lol. You’ve got it, that’s me in a nutshell, but I have to admit, I am also a chocoholic and a tweetaholic. I need a few 12-step programs. And, Kat, I’m truly honored to be your guest today. I admire your generosity and kindness that you share with those around you.
K- I have so much admiration for you, Melissa. I do not know how you manage to juggle everything. Will you please describe a typical day in Melissa Foster’s life? I want to know how your secrets. Please start with what time you wake up, meals, caffeine consumption, everything in between and then end with what time you go to sleep.
M- I’m afraid I will bore you terribly. I get wake up every morning at about 5:30am and just lay in bed thinking of the day ahead, until about 6:30. Then I rally my 12 yr old, shower, dry my mop of hair, and wake up my 11 yr old at 7. I then head for the kitchen, where there are lunches to be made and coffee to be brewed, and many shouts of, “Jake, get out of bed. I mean it. Now, please.” I drive Jess to school, then come back and drive Jake to school, then at 8:45 I sit at my computer and dive into social networks and emails. This takes hours. I teach people to take 10 minutes – no more – but for me, it’s an all day affair that doesn’t end until about 12:30am. At 10 am I start bouncing between writing, emails, and answering WLC inquiries. In between, I check in on my private author groups on FB and try to respond to every Twitter DM that isn’t a sales pitch. I also spend about an hour each day reaching out and marketing aspects of WLC to groups to see how we might collaborate.
The second cup of coffee is consumed around 1pm with a baked chicken breast and cucumber (summer diet), followed by Starburst, Laffy Taffy, or Skittles (no chocolate while preparing for vacation). 2:15 I pick up my 12 yr/old, then I pick up my 11 yr old at 3, and they do their own thing while I run through emails again. The rest of the night is a blur of preparing for WLC promotions, jotting down story ideas, checking social networks, and marketing.
I fall into bed at 12-12:30am, read until 1am, then close my eyes and get ready to start again.
This is all going to change soon. I’m reclaiming my life, redesigning my schedule, and I will be writing again from 7:30-1 daily, beginning June 1st.
K-I don’t know how you do it.  Only two cups of coffee? So June 1stis the big day. It sounds like a new book or books might be in the making this summer. I can’t wait!
When I read ‘Megan’s Way’, it was quite a ride. In the beginning, the intensity of what Megan was experiencing actually made my chest hurt. Then later, oh, how I cried & cried... I know that your inspiration came from a health scare that your mother went through, it must have touched you deeply.
M- I am truly lucky. My mother is one of my best friends, and I respect her as a mother, a business person, and, of course, as a friend. When she had her health scare, she kept the truth from me for a year. When I learned that if she’d had cancer, she would not have gotten treatments (this was twenty years ago – treatments did not have as favorable of an outcome at that time), I was deeply hurt. Although I had children of my own at the time, I reverted to an angry teenager, and it was all about me, “How could you choose to leave me like that?!” It took me about ten years to come through the other side of that selfishness and see how selfless she actually had been acting. To say I was touched is beyond an understatement. I live in fear of the day I lose my mother. It’s not that I’m a Mama’s Girl, just that I so adore her, that I know I’ll miss her every second of the rest of my life.
K- I know exactly what you mean. I can’t bear to think about losing my mother. She is a breast cancer survivor and I thank God every day and pray to keep her healthy.
Let’s get off that topic and on to something fun!
I heard that Megan’s Way is going to be a movie! That must be a dream come true. How did it come about?
M- Again, I think I’m very lucky. I was referred to my director while I was on vacation in Cape Cod, and she happened to be there at the same time.  She read Megan’s Way, loved it, and really believed in Megan’s Story. It is, indeed, a dream come true.
K- If you could cast the actors, who would you choose?
M- I really love Virginia Madsen. I’d love to see her as Megan. As for Olivia, I’m not sure, but I think Elle Fanning would be fantastic.
K-I have a ritual. I like to do a “writing exercise” with the authors that I interview. I give them a scene and then ask them to re-write the scene in their own special style. Are you game?
M-Okay, I’ll take a shot:
K-Okay- here you go:
Anil sat quietly in the dark room, staring down into the amber liquid in the glass he held in his hand. He quickly swallowed the whiskey, in one gulp. Then he screamed out filthy obscenities, while he hurled the glass to the floor. He grimaced as a large glass shard bounced up and lodged in his bare ankle. He reached down and grabbed the glass shard, and pushed it deeply in to his skin, and then pulled the shard through his leg, all the way up to his knee.  "Arrr!"He screamed out in pain and then grabbed the glass shard and threw it back on the floor. He did not notice the blood gushing down his leg and pooling on the floor. He felt a little better now. He had discovered that cutting himself seemed to calm him down. Sometimes he became so irate and agitated it took more than just a few cuts. It was starting to escalate. Like a drug, he needed more and more. The month before he was not able to soothe himself until he had sliced off his pinky finger
M- Anil sat in the corner of the room, the darkness pressing in on him. He clenched a whiskey glass between his three fingers and his thumb. He sucked down the whiskey in one fast gulp, grimacing as the hot liquid slid down his throat, then grit his teeth and threw the glass against the wall. His heartbeat pounded in his ears, sweat poured down his brow. He breathed in fast, hard spurts, wishing his fiancé hadn’t left him, made a fool of him. He’d show her. He stood, a shard of glass sliced into the arch of his bare foot.“Mother effer!” He crouched, yanked the glass from his foot, and watched the blood gush onto the cold concrete floor. Anil mumbled under his breath as he jabbed the glass into his calf, tearing it upward, leaving a thick trail of blood oozing onto the floor. His pulse calmed. Numbness set in. I’ll show that bitch.His eyes bulged, settling on his missing pinky. Cutting was his savior—the pinky had been just the beginning.
K- I love it!  So delightfully twisted! 
Do you have any exciting events or book promotions coming up?
M- I think every book promotion is exciting! I am currently on a summer blog tour, and my newest manuscript, TRACES OF KARA, is currently being shopped to publishers, so we shall see where that lands me. I’m refocusing WLC for authors to make it a more user-friendly site, and that’s going to be a big change. Fostering Success is currently in a beta-testing stage, and I’m exciting about launching that in the next 4 weeks. Overall, I think I have a lot to look forward to, and I hope to bring my readers several great stories in the next 12 months.
K- Melissa, thank you so much for joining us. It was wonderful chatting with you. Where can people find you and your work on the web?
Thank you, Kat, it was my pleasure! Below are my links, and I love to chat with readers, so please, find me! Xox
WebsiteFacebookTwitterMy social network for women- The Women's NestWorldLiterary CaféFosteringSuccessFacebook  (Fanpage)Goodreads 

MEGAN'SWAY 














CHASINGAMANDA 











COME BACK TO ME:

' Hirens Magical Adventure' Review by Fabulous Book Blogger Josie Ann

  ***Hiren's Magical Adventure climbed to #1 in Kindle Action Adventure and #2 in Ghost Stories!
Title:  Hirens Magical Adventure
Author:  Kathleen Patel
Genre:  Fiction; Young adult; Fantasy; Adventure

My Rating:  5/5

Summary:  When Hiren starts to misbehave his parents decide to send him back to India to learn about his heritage and culture. He reluctantly says good bye to his friends and family and goes on the journey of a lifetime. He learns about fascinating traditions that date back thousands of years. He meets a mysterious girl that shows him some of the magic in India. She introduces him to the exotic animals friends in the jungle and teaches him about the magical meditation that enables them to leave their bodies and let their spirits travel through the universe.  He also encounters some ghostly family secrets wrapped in mysticism and mystery. But in the end, he learns that love truly conquers all.

Review:  I was asked to review this book by the author, and I'm honestly happy that she approached me because I absolutely loved this book!!  I loved the cover of this book, because if anyone knows me, they know that I have a huge soft spot for tigers.  Anyway, in Hirens Magical Adventure, Hiren is sent to India by his parents to stay with his grandparents for the summer, to learn to appreciate his heritage.  Before Hiren went to India, I sympathized with him, because it just seemed to me as if he really didn't understand why his family had to be different than any other American families.  When Hiren went to India, he stayed with Dadee and Dadoo, which I learned is an Indian tradition as to what you would refer to your grandma and grandpa as.  As the story went on, I was super anxious to find out all about the family's secrets and why they were so unaccepting of Dimpi and Pratibha.  I loved the fact that this book kept me on the edge of my seat, and kept me wanting more.  If you read this book, not only will you enjoy it, but you will learn about the Indian culture, which I appreciated so much. Posted by- Josie Ann visit her website here


























Find the book here Facebook page here

Swan Song to KDP

Alas,  it has become painfully clear that  KDP may no longer a friend to the Indie author. There may be a few exceptions, but as of late, the Kindle Free Days dream seems to be over. 


Or is it?
If you are not familiar with Amazon's KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) Program, it's simple.  Writers agree to publish their books to Kindle- exclusively. You cannot sell your books anywhere else.  In exchange, you are given the opportunity to offer your book free, for five days in a 90 day period. 
In the beginning, authors were suspicious.  We didn't want to exclude all the other sites that were selling our books. We worried about getting locked in that 90 day time frame of exclusivity. 
However this was an opportunity to get our precious books out in the world. Dozens, hundreds, even thousands could download our books.  There was a possibility that
throngs of adoring fans would be drawn to our work. They might even  fall in love with our books; with our babies, and then tell all of their friends. And we could beam with joy, like proud parents..
As the first few pioneers braved the new frontier, they came back with tales of delight.  
Russell Blake    blogged about his 10,000 downloads and the incredible spikes in sales after the Free Days Promotion.  He even explained the elusive "Amazon Algorithm".  
R. S. Guthrie joyfully reported that during his promotion of one book, L.O.S.T.,  his other book climbed the charts to dazzling heights.


 "My book, Black Beast, new cover and all, was at #28 PAID in Horror! More than that, three slots above me was my childhood hero,Stephen King!!"
There have been collaborative successes like the Free Partay group that has boosted many books in to the Kindle Top 100, causing astronomical downloads and then outstanding sales.  The Indie Book Collective, specifically through the FREE Par-Tay/IBB events, "...planned to make ebook promotion supersonic!"
Suddenly, everything changed.  The magic was vanishing quickly.  Even the pioneers could sense that something was amiss...
JD Currie  wanted to investigate this phenomenon. He is tracking the experiences of multiple authors, requesting that others sharing their experiences.  
Phoenix Sullivan  became suspicious and started to look in to a possible "price bias".  In fact,  Edward Robertson did some extensive research and found that the new algorithm, along with this price bias could prove deadly to the indie author. 
Wait! It appears that all is not lost-  I  bring you new hope!  
Edward Robertson decided he would try an experiment, and went all out with a three day free promo.  His results were a happy surprise!  A day and half after the promo ended, Ed's book, 'Breakers', was downloaded by 26,000 readers and has (so far) enjoyed 173 sales, 93 borrows and was sitting pretty in the charts:


Ed says, "Anyway, what does this mean long-term? I don't know. I'm trying not to know just yet, because I don't want to get my hopes up. But prior to this free run, Breakers was #121 on the Technothrillers popularity list and worse than #500 on Science Fiction > Adventure. On day three of its run, it improved to #10 Technothriller and #27 Sci-Fi > Adventure. Right now, it's #8 and #24. I'm guessing sales will slow down after an initial rush, but hold, driven by the pop lists, at a decent clip, for an unknown length of time. If that happens, I will be a very happy Ed."
 I'm going to take a chance and follow Ed's example.  I will be extending my Kindle Free Days.  Hiren's Magical Adventure' will be free for four days started 5/22 and running through 5/23/2012.  Thank you Ed!