Marjorie F. Baldwin's Blog, page 6

When Minds Collide - Cover Design (draft?)

[image error] Please tell me what you think of this. I'm trying to maintain the theme, so to speak. Not just the background image/texture and title fonts but the "eyes" are a theme in this series. Forex, the eyes on the blog are the same as the ones on the cover of Conditioned Response--and they are Raif's eyes :) Here there's just one eye (it's a short story, so only one eye *haha*) and it's reflecting the explosing following the big car crash that is at the heart of the plot of this short story.

I plan to have different eyes against different colored-versions of the same background image/texture for the other 3 books in this series (there'll be 4 total I'm almost positive. For instance, Book 1 will have Shayla's hopefully glowy blue eyes on an emerald green (like the color of Raif's eyes) background. Book 3 will be Charlie and Kyree's glowy blue eyes and Book 4 will be...I won't say whose they are but glowy silvery grey eyes :)

Here, I know my amateur attempt to "fade" the eye gradually into the background and to paste the nice explosion into the eyeball probably makes edges everwhere visible and the overall effect "unclean" but it sure does look great in thumbnail, doesn't it? ^)^

I dunno if I like it or not. What do you think? Please reply via @phoenicianbooks or in the comments.

Signed Copy of eBook? Check! Coming right up!

As you may have heard, I signed up to give away a free copy of Conditioned Response during the launch party for Cambria Hebert's new paranormal Charade this coming Friday, June 1st.

Now it's one thing to agree to give away a free copy of an eBook. Smashwords makes that super-easy with their instant coupons you can generate at will. But note, I said signed copy, as in personally autographed for the winner.

Tah-dah!

I just did a test run using an ePub format book (imported an ePub file, replaced the cover with the signed image, exported a new ePub file) and it worked! Now i just need the winner to tell me what format they want (I can do Kindle/Mobi too) and how they want it signed and we'll be good to go. I also need to practice a little with a nicer pen tool than the shaky pencil one I used here but I'm so excited! Gonna have to blog how I did this...under another name *haha*

-Friday
@phoenicianbooks

Friday on Friday - Author Interview of @phoenicianbooks by @Cassie639 http://ow.ly/b97zx it's #fridayreads #indie

Cassie McCown (who was one of my fine editors for Conditioned Response) has posted an amazing, in-depth interview of mois. I can't believe she gave me so much screen real estate! Thank you, Cassie!

Click through here to read more about Friday (since today is Friday ;-) You may be surprised at some of the things I reveal about myself!

Thanks for stopping by!

-Friday

Friday on Friday

Tomorrow, Friday, May 25, 2012, I'll be interviewed by Cassie McCown of Gathering Leaves Reviews. Check out her review of Conditioned Response here, right now:

http://nblo.gs/y0p28

Then stop back tomorrow, on Friday, for more "on Friday." :)

-Friday
@phoenicianbooks

GIVEAWAY: Win a free, autographed* copy of Conditioned Response!

I've been invited to participate in Cambria Hebert's launch party for her new paranormal CHARADE. She'll be having giveaways from over 40 authors on her Facebook Page on Friday, June 1, 2012 from 3pm to 9pm Eastern Time (USA). I'll give away a free, autographed* copy of CONDITIONED RESPONSE.



I hope you'll join us.

-Friday

*In order to autograph the book, I'll need to send the winner the autographed book in their preferred format (any format currently offered at Smashwords) via email.

To Auto-Follow or Not To Auto-Follow? That is My Question; What's UR Answer? #TweetAdder #twitter #autofollowers

Seriously, now that I've got the system down for scheduling 3 days of promo tweets at a time, I'm considering that I should finally start using the auto-follower (TweetAdder) that I bought last winter. The thing is, it's indiscriminate about following back. It'll follow back everyone or no one. I can't say, only follow back the people I like. ;-)

The downside of using TweetAdder is going to be the noise in my stream will make it harder and harder for me to actually have conversations with anyone. Currently, I faithfully check my @ interactions so I see when I'm RT'd or Favorited or when someone is actually speaking directly to me. I still never think to check DMs (sorry if you've DM'd me and wonder why I'm not replying; just @ mention me in public instead and you'll get a reply right away, I promise!) If I use the auto-follower, I'll up my numbers (quantity) and lose massive amounts of quality. I suppose I can always try it and then change my mind later? Let's see what happens for a week or two, yes? No? What do you think?

TweetAdder's kind of a hard program to learn because the documentation is so badly-written and the GUI so UNintuitive but it's not a very complex program. It certainly shouldn't be this hard to master given how simplistic its functions are! Are you using TweetAdder yourself? If so, what cautionary tales of advice can you offer me?

-Friday
(May, 2012 - BTA - Before TweetAdder -grin-)

All Raif, All the Time

If you're on Twitter you have GOT to check this out: Raif has his own account! OK he shares @theraifdaily with every other Raif out there but it's all Raifs, all the time :) It's amazing how many different El Raif's there are in the Twitterverse! Wow.

And yet, there can be only one (LOL) Vote for the REAL Raif on the Characters Whose Story You Wish Would Continue (down to #28 Click to vote it back up the list!)

My Raif is still the #1 Human Male Mate (with a non-human female mate, Shayla)

Conditioned Response is #3 on the Best Indie Books to Read in 2012
(Click to add your vote and get it back up to #1!)

(If you'd like click here to vote for Conditioned Response on all the lists it's on)

-Friday
@phoenicianbooks

#NowPlaying Soundtrack to #ConditionedResponse #SciFi #thriller #mystery #suspense

Every book should have a soundtrack--and Conditioned Response does! Because it's at the back of the book (so you'd have to buy the book to gain access to it), I figured I'd share the Soundtrack with you here. Plus I can make things more clicky here, right?

The following 3 lists were each made into a playlist (and/or burned onto a CD) then looped, repeatedly. I alternated between them on various days but definitely listened to one artist for days on end, including taking the CD into my car to keep myself in a “writing mood.” Certain songs became associated, in my mind, with certain characters or scenes. I've noted those, where applicable.

Except for The Crystal Method Single EP released on YouTube with La Machinima, I’ve bought all of the following music and urge you to do the same—then burn your own playlists to take everywhere with you! You can sample most (if not all) of these clips on YouTube. Tweet me

Dirty Vegas (@DirtyVegas3)
(for keeping me bouncy bouncy bouncy)

Changes (Electric Love)(Joshua’s Song)
Electric Love (Electric Love)
Pressure (Electric Love)
Round and Round (Electric Love)
Today (Electric Love)
Never Enough (Electric Love)
Weekend (Electric Love)
21st Century (Electric Love)
I Should Know (Dirty Vegas)
Lost Not Found (Dirty Vegas)
Days Gone By (linked DubStep Remix) (Dirty Vegas)
Throwing Shapes (Dirty Vegas)
All or Nothing (Dirty Vegas)
Alive (Dirty Vegas)
7AM (Dirty Vegas)
The Brazilian (Dirty Vegas)
Simple Things Part 2 (Dirty Vegas)


The Cruxshadows (@theCruxshadows)
(for singing the story of my book)

Isis & Osiris (Life & Death) (The Mystery of the Whisper)
Leave Me Alone (The Mystery of the Whisper)
Breathe (The Mystery of the Whisper) (Shayla’s Battle Song)

(...and if our children die before we reach our own demise,
then life is blacker still, blacker than the blackest fire,
and I am...the face you see within the mirror
and I am...the hand that holds the fist away,
and I am...the dream forgotten in the morning
and I am...I am! )

Cassandra (Ethernaut)
Flame (Ethernaut)
East (Ethernaut) (Julia’s Battle Song Part One)

(  Live. Love. Be. Believe. )

Love and Hatred (Ethernaut)
Winterborn (This Sacrifice) (Ethernaut)
Citadel (Ethernaut) (Julia’s Battle Song Part Two)

( Languid waves of desperation fall before the rains
A vanguard to approaching war is borne upon the sea
The icy breath of cyclones bent on waging our destruction
Drills hard against the hearts of heroes called here to defend
I see storms on the horizon I see the Tempest at the gates
I see storms on the horizon, and a Citadel alone
Clinging brave, defying fate
And I will stand here at the gates to face the onslaught fighting
Without surrender or defeat )

The Seraphs (Ethernaut)
Windbringer (Dreamcypher)
Sophia (Dreamcypher) (Raif’s Song)

( Do not injustice to another,
Defend the weak & innocent
May truth & honor always guide you
Let courage find a life within
Stand up when no one else is willing
Act not in anger or in spite
Be to this world as a perfect Knight
even if it means your life...!
Here I am, alive among the injured and the dead.)

Ariadne (Dreamcypher)
Sleepwalking (Dreamcypher)
Memorare (Dreamcypher)
Birthday (Dreamcypher)(Brennan’s Song)

( You roll out of bed, look in the mirror and wonder who you are-
Another year has come and gone.
Today is your birthday but it might be...
the last day of your life
so what will you do if tomorrow, it's all gone?
You won't be young forever... )

Aten-Ra (The Mystery of the Whisper)



The Crystal Method (@CrystalMethod)
(just for the sheer energy of this music! you're better than caffeine--almost ;-))

Kling to the Wreckage (Divided by Night) (feat. She Wants Revenge)
Play for Real (Single EP released with LaMachinima on YouTube)
Smile? (Divided by Night)
Sine Language (feat. LMFAO) (Divided by Night)
Double Down Under (Divided by Night)
Come Back Clean (Divided by Night)
Dirty Thirty (Divided by Night)
Slipstream (Divided by Night)
Busy Child (Vegas)
Keep Hope Alive (Vegas)
Vapor Trail (Vegas) (my personal favorite)
She’s My Pusher (Vegas)
PHD (Tweekend)
Wild, Sweet and Cool (Tweekend) (amusing little graphic novel parody vid)
You Know It’s Hard (You Know it’s Murder) (Tweekend)
Name of the Game (Tweekend)
Ready for Action (Tweekend)
Ten Miles Back (Tweekend) (amazing poppers on the YT vid, even b4 the FX)

Sample Chapters of #ConditionedResponse Now Free @Smashwords #SciFi #Thriller #Mystery #RomanticSF #SFR #epic

Friday, April 20, 2012: We have ignition. We have liftoff. The Phoenician Series is now LAUNCHED. Yippeeee!!

Conditioned Response is now ON SALE!

I get more money (higher percentage royalties) if you buy it from Smashwords, and they do sell Kindle format books, but if you prefer, you can get it directly from the Amazon Kindle Store or the Kindle UK Store (or one of the other international Kindle Stores).

I'm sorry to have to say I've had to raise the price of the book on Amazon to compensate for (a) lower royalties and (b) the delivery costs Amazon charges me whenever you download the book. Yes, I pay for your downloads so I've built that cost into the cover price. Yet another reason to love Smashwords!

The book should propagate through the Smashwords Distribution Channels over the next 10-14 days and hopefully, show up in the Apple iBookstore and other online retailers (Nookstore, Kobo Books, Diesel etc.) shortly. If you need an ePub before the book has shown up, please remember you can always buy that directly from Smashwords--and for a lower price since they pay higher percentage royalties than Apple and a full 30% higher than Barnes & Noble pays me.

You can shelve the book at Goodreads or at Shelfari and start reading right away. Just download your free copy of the first few chapters from Smashwords in your preferred format (ePub format and Kindle/MOBI format both available) or read it online (HTML) in your web browser if you prefer not to download files. Warning: Once you try it, you'll "have to" buy it. It's too addictive to stop after just a few chapters.

If you're on a phone or other mobile device, I advise you to download an ePub or Kindle version and use one of the free apps out there for eReading. Personally, even though I don't like Amazon's Kindle device (hardware) I highly recommend their free Kindle apps for all mobile platforms (software). Unless you're on an iPhone in which case, will you adopt me? ^_^

Please leave me a review or join a discussion at Goodreads or Shelfari to tell me what you think of the book. I'll be on Twitter @phoenicianbooks daily so you can always reach me there. I defintiely love to hear from my readers!

Enjoy! And remember, There is always a Plan!

Where Does #ConditionedResponse Get its Title? #indie #writing #amwriting

I usually get my titles from a line in the book, a piece of dialog or some turn of phrase I really like. The one thing all my titles--chapter titles, book titles, any titles--have in common is that they always have more than one meaning. Titles might even have more than one source.

This book originally was called Problem 4368: The Community of Trouville and the book really focused more on Problem 4368 (the machine-to-man subplot) than it did anything else. When I created Raif in 2005, as I've said everywhere, he really took over the page, the book, the series!  Because his influence was so strong, I ended up with a second reference in the book to the phrase "conditioned response" which tied the original machine to the Proctors I'd created in a kind of subliminal way. That is, both the men and machines were being "programmed" or "conditioned" and I juxtaposed the way the machine here was going to become more of a man than the Proctors were being allowed to be.

The machine is called Charlie. He gets his name from the acronym of his designation: Conditioned Human Response Series machine, Rev E, or CHR-E. The idea of his design was that a Turing machine can and will learn to respond to situations in a "conditioned" manner.

The book, once Proctor Raif hit the stage, took another turn into conditioning. Proctors minds are manipulated and even used to turn these men into weapons--without their knowledge or consent. Human trafficking is a big issue to me, personally, so making the Proctors slaves really was important to me but they're also highly-skilled soldiers so I had to balance a fine-edged sword there. I had to figure out how to make them both. Conditioned responses were my answer. Proctors are programmed....like machines, not men.

One of the manners in which Proctors are programmed is referred to as "planting a trigger." It's like being hypnotized and having a post-hypnotic suggestion planted in your mind. A trigger is a directive to carry out a set of instructions--and he'll carry out the directive or die trying. To resist a trigger would destroy him, mentally. It's a do or die directive. I've handily "disabled" the Proctors' survival instinct, their natural instinct for self-preservation, so they will self-destruct trying to carry out a trigger's directive.

Bearing all this in mind, when I got to the following paragraph in the book (near the end), I knew I had my title--my new title.


“No.” She shook her head. “Not me, the trigger. I couldn’t stop the trigger in his head from firing.”Brennan leaned back and the other two Proctors took a small step away from her. It was a conditioned response. The word “trigger” held that kind of power over Proctors. Distance yourself from a trigger. A man with a trigger in his head cannot control his actions. He might be programmed to kill you without warning and without regard for his own life.
What do you think? Did I pick the right title? :) Too late now. It's emblazoned on Raif's mind and there's no fixing that anymore! Read a free sample of the book on Smashwords by clicking here. The book's official release date is this coming weekend, April 20, 2012, but you can already find it on sale at Smashwords and the Amazon Kindle store (for Kindle UK, click here).

-Friday