A.L. Butcher's Blog, page 152
September 9, 2016
Summer Shorts II – The Indie Collaboration – Spotlight
I’m not involved with this one but here’s the spotlight for the latest Indie Collaboration.
In this second helping of summer fun, The Indie Collaboration comes up with yet another unique collection of original stories from the authors we have come to know so well. Now in our third year, The Indie Collaboration comes up with yet more exciting, enthralling and funny stories. Ideal for relaxing in the summer sun, just don’t get carried away and stay out too long.
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/642911
Look out for more Indie Collab books later in the year
September 6, 2016
Book Spotlight – Blue Moon House Angelica Dawson
Blue Moon House #VAMPIRE Book 6 ~ Available Now! #erotica #LGBTQ #BDSM @angelicadawson
Available now!
Amazon – Nook – iBooks – Kobo – ARe – NNP – Goodreads
Find out how each of the characters in the original novella, “Blue Moon House,” became a member. Read the trials and tribulations they had to endure, the kinky sexual acts, and wickedly wonderful ways required for entry. Discover what the big secret is all about.
Don’t miss each new book by Angelica Dawson as she takes you back to where it all began…
A vampire on the run, Nicholas has the opportunity to make a home at Blue Moon House if he is able to curb his killing tendency and learn a new way of living.
Is there anything he won’t do to stay? What will he do when he inevitably fails?
Amazon – Nook – iBooks – Kobo – ARe – NNP – Goodreads
Angelica Dawson, bestselling author of the Blue Moon House series, has been writing for several years and having sex a lot longer than that. Angelica is a wife, mother and environmental consultant. Her love of plants and the outdoors is not diminished by the bloodsucking hoards — mosquitoes and black flies, not vampires. She is active on Twitter (@angelicadawson) and Facebook (facebook.com/authorangelicadawson)
What is your dream vacation?
I went to England a Wales a couple of years ago and it was fantastic. I was a dream! Japan is one of my bucket list locations to visit. I also want to take the train across Canada. I haven’t seen nearly enough of my own country.
What did you do this summer?
It’s been a busy couple of months. As an Environmental Consultant, I spend a lot of time working with native plants and that means going on site during the growing season. I try to get some writing in while travelling, but was less successful this year than last. I attend When Words Collide (http://whenwordscollide.org) every August including this one. It is a fantastic venue for connecting with authors, editors and publishers, chock full of panels and discussions to help you improve everything from the craft of writing to queries to marketing. It’s also inexpensive. I highly recommend it. The last thing this summer is on a sadder note. My grandfather passed away and we made a long trip to my hometown to say goodbye.
Are you looking forward to school starting?
Oh, yeah. I have a 9 year-old that can drive me bonkers. It’ll be great to have her back in school during the day. I might get a little more done… or not. LOL
Do you ever think of going back to school?
Sometimes. I only have my Bachelor’s degree and going back for my Master’s is an idea I toy with from time to time. So far, I haven’t acted on it. I also peruse the communication and writing courses offered by the Universities and Colleges in the area, but haven’t signed up for any yet.
What are you working on right now?
Right now I’m promoting Vampire and two boxed sets that are due to come out in the next few weeks. I have the latest edit in my inbox for a transgender paranormal novella that I need to open. I’m also working on the last Blue Moon House issue, Sophia’s story.
Where can readers find you?
Blog: http://angelicadawson.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/angelicadawson
FB: http://facebook.com/authorangelicadawson
Newsletter: http://angelicadawson.blogspot.ca/2016/02/mailing-list.html
Amazon – Nook – iBooks – Kobo – ARe – NNP – Goodreads
August 30, 2016
3 Ways Indie Authors Can Promote Their Work for Free – Guest Post…
Interesting ideas. I’ve not approached local media stations but I’l tried to do the other two.
Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog
One of the major problems indie authors encounter is knowing how to promote their work. Unfortunately, book promotion is often prohibitively expensive, especially without the help of a big publishing house with deep pockets and the right connections. Nonetheless, it can be done. In fact, there are some clever ways to promote your book for free. One caveat though: these methods may not cost anything in monetary terms, but they do cost a lot in terms of time and effort. However, if you want to see your book out there on people’s shelves (or in their e-readers) all the hard work is definitely worth it.
Many indie authors make the mistake of spamming anyone and everyone they can reach. That’s a terrible strategy. In fact, it’s not even a strategy. It’s a waste of time. It will probably hinder rather than aid your efforts because spam really irritates people…
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Magic in the Middle Ages – Course Review
#Coursera #Fantasy #Medieval
https://www.coursera.org/learn/magic-middle-ages/
3.5 stars out of 5.
I’d been looking at this particular Coursera Course for a while, as it looked pretty interesting and good research for the books.
Here’s the summary from the Cousera website ‘About this course: Magical thought has always attracted human imagination. In this course we will introduce you to the Middle Ages through a wide conception of magic. Students will have an approach to medieval culture, beliefs and practices from the perspective of History and History of Science. Popular magic, as well as learned magic (alchemy, geomancy and necromancy) will be addressed. Moreover, we will also deal with how eastern practices and texts influenced western culture. In July 2016, the course will contain a brand-new module devoted to astrology. Magic in the Middle Ages offers a captivating overview of medieval society and promotes reflection about certain stereotypes associated with this period.’
So did it fulfil this? Yes and no.
Let’s start with the ‘yes’. There was a lot of information to be learned in only 5 weeks – personally I would have liked another week or so. That said I was actually doing another, totally unrelated course at the same time and probably didn’t do this justice. The lectures were taught via video (and I’ll cover that later), with transcripts available, plus some selected reading, tests and two short assignments.
Each week covered a slightly different topic:
Unit 1 – Introduction to Medieval Magic
Unit 2 – Magic and Heresy
Unit 3 – From Magic to Witchcraft
Unit 4 – Magic in Islam
Unit 5 – Astrology and Geomancy
Of these the first three were the most interesting, although it was also interesting to see how Islam viewed magic – as opposed to the far more negative view of the Western Christian views. This particular module was probably the trickiest (not least because of the more unfamiliar names and terms) and I think more time could have been spent comparing the different cultural and religious outlooks, had the course been longer.
Magic permeated the Middle Ages, be it ‘healing’ magic, natural magic, or the more sinister type. In many ways it ran alongside religion, although it goes without saying that the religions of the day weren’t happy about it. To us, in the modern world, much of it seems really odd, and for many secular societies or individual the whole concept of magic and religion is very outdated. Yet it was important to those who dwelt in a world not ordered by science and technology, where seasonal changes, illness, and belief could literally be a matter of life and death. Magic was a way of trying to control what was often uncontrollable, to even the odds in a dangerous world. Religion and magic shared many aspects and Christianity itself (and Islam) hold many magical elements – including miracles, foresight and much more.
The topics were certainly engaging and thought provoking – especially the fact that many suffered imprisonment, torture and death for ‘heresy’ simply because of malice, ignorance or wishing to maintain older beliefs. If the ‘magic’ wasn’t of the right sort, then people suffered. It was interesting to see the differing types of magic, and practitioners – from the wealthy intellectual court astronomers and magicians to the simple ‘cunning folk’. This builds on past study, at least for me. I’d agree it’s a good foundation for further research.
Was it useful for writing fantasy? Yes, I think so as it gave a broad outline of medieval magical ideas to build on, and the prejudice surrounding them.
So the ‘no’.
The sound quality was bloody awful. The mix of tutors were all heavily accented and the recordings were of poor quality, with echoes, background noises, random volume changes and at one point a random question about King Arthur popped up on screen and froze the vid until it was answered. I found it far easier to just read the transcripts, but even then they were a little choppy.
As you’ve probably guessed I feel that the course should have been a bit longer – everything was a bit rushed. To be fair I didn’t utilise the discussion forum much.
The second assignment was a bit confusing – the grading questions were different to the points asked for discussion.
Overall a 3.5 for this – mostly because of the awful technical issues. Clean up the sound quality and this would be an engaging course.
August 28, 2016
Newsletter! Adventures in Marketing
Hi!
I’ve been contemplating this for a while – I’m planning to start an author newsletter to compliment the blog.
Ideas
Prizes and giveaways unique to the newsletter
Author news – forthcoming releases, events etc
Erana tidbits not available elsewhere
Short interviews and features
Articles
Reviews
Is there anything else you’d like to see? Please comment.
I’m planning to start this over the next month, so if you’d like to receive this please complete the form below. It will be quarterly, at least to begin with, so don’t fear you will be spammed.
[contact-form]
August 27, 2016
Interview with A. L. Butcher #Fantasy #Indieauthor #Lightbeyondthestorm
Today I would like to welcome A. L. Butcher to the blog! She is the author of The Light Beyond the Storm Chronicles, Tales of Erana and several short stories. 1. When did you first begin writing? I…
Source: Interview with A. L. Butcher
August 22, 2016
Shaw Academy – Diploma in Social Media Marketing – Course Review
#SocialMedia #Shawsocial #Media
I’m the first person to admit I am not a fan of marketing, if a salesperson is pushy then I won’t buy on principle, unless I REALLY want that item. I’ve worked in retail, a call centre (never ever again – I lasted two weeks), and of course I have to market my books. Time and again there’s guidance on how to sell, what to do and not to do, and a lot of it is contradictory.
I actually find the marketing far more of a challenge than actually writing the books – as I am not especially confident and don’t like to be pushy. So, you ask, where is she going with this?
A good friend of mine recently put me onto Living Social – which is basically a coupon site for discount products. I was looking for an Excel course, I use it in my day job and I know the basics but that’s it. The chance of my work actually providing useful training is pretty low so I decided to look for a course myself, to do in my own time. Whilst wandering around the site I found the Online Social Media Marketing course – for £15 instead of £150 (or close to that). At that price I thought what the hell – it may help and if it doesn’t then I haven’t lost much.
The course itself is run by SHAW ACADEMY, who is one of the biggest online training providers. This is part one of their marketing training, the foundation diploma, and it’s worth doing. Run over 10 weeks there are two hour-long webinars, plus an ‘on-demand’ lecture a week, quizzes to test knowledge and a two hour assignment at the end. They have a You-Tube site, which has extra videos and interaction, plus an active Twitter feed.
The course covers a number of topics: Facebook pages and advertising, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest, ORM (Online Reputation Management), You-Tube, Instagram, and a good deal about analytics. It goes without saying that the course is predominantly sales focused but there is a lot of excellent advice.
The tutor – Daniel Gilligan is informed, engaging and has a wicked Irish sense of humour.
Although due to the volume of students the webinars do not allow verbal participation student are encouraged to ask questions, and Daniel and his team are happy to answer emails and phone calls regarding the course. There were incentives to log in to the webinars live (prizes etc.) and as they were at 7pm UK time, that was useful. For a small fee one could buy the slides, notes and extra vids – although everyone got the basic pack. There is a certificate at the end (assuming one does the final assignment) and it is an accredited course.
Not all the aspects are useful for me – I still dislike Linkedin, and although I joined Instagram I’m yet to do much with it. The most useful aspects for me covered analytics, ORM and the discussion on target audience. Times of day are important too. I forget sometimes that my audience are not all in the same time zone, so scheduling a Tweet at 7 pm my time might not be helpful as it could be 2am in the US, or 2pm when people are at work.
I find Pintrest more of a distraction than a useful marketing tool – that said I have set up a board for my own books (ADD LINK), and many people do like the very visual aspect. But I have, as a reader, looked at books based on the cover there.
I’m working on a companion website for the blog, and have quite a number of ideas, plus I am contemplating a Facebook ad, re-jigging the blog and it has given me the confidence to try some more approaches.
What I learned:
Keep it short and snappy, relevant and regular, new and nice is important. Don’t behave like an asshat – it will ruin your online reputation, and it’s hard to come back from that. We were shown examples of some unfortunate and ill-considered posts and Tweets. For example a particular company tweeting a brand and then #RIPPRINCE on the sad day the singer Prince died. Not only totally inappropriate to the brand this got hold of a twitter outpouring of grief at the death of an icon. Trending hashtags need to be used with care – is it relevant to the post, or is it just latching on to a trend? Think through what you post, keep it clean, and make sure it’s not filled with errors.
Don’t overload the sites with the same message.
Also it’s worth considering what’s working and what isn’t and why? Wrong target audience? Badly written promotion? Misunderstood promotion?
Be consistent.
Tailor content – what is appropriate for one platform/audience might not be for another
Engage.
This is the FOUNDATION diploma – and there is a second part – which currently I am not looking at (due to time, money and other commitments) but I would consider it in the future.
Oh and by the way I got a Merit[image error]
August 21, 2016
Audiobook sale! Part 2
Hi all,
Here’s a few more great audio books on sale at Audible.co.uk
The Infinity Pool – Jessica Norrie (UK only running until 28th August).
“Had a good summer holiday? Find out the real meaning of getting away from it all!” http://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Crime-Thrillers/The-Infinity-Pool-Audiobook/B01AMDKT7S
The Dreamweaver’s Journey – Diana Wicker
Audible.co.uk Sale!!!! #Fantasy #Audio
Hurrah, Audible are having a sale with 40% off everything until 28th August (members only). If you’re looking for some fine summer reads check out the following:
(UK SITE ONLY)
Tales of Erana: Myths and Legends. Narrated by Mike Legate – only £2.65
In a world where magic is illegal and elves enslaved dare you hear the tales of old?
Five tales of myth, magic and monsters from the world of the Light Beyond the Storm Chronicles.
The Blue Phial – An apprentice herbalist receives a special gift from her mistress and learns the real wisdom of life.
The Tale of Treyna the Beloved – the sun and moon over the love of a mortal with disastrous results.
The Legend of Oeliana – jealousy exacts a terrible revenge in this tale of love and loss
Storm Born – a lonely mage does not appreciate what he has until it’s gone.
The Moon on the Water – A tale of greed, war and powerful magic from a time long past
Outside the Walls – Narrated by Melanie Fraser – only £1.61
Co-authored with Diana L. Wicker
(Expanded edition)
When the tide of war flows who will be caught in its wake? A short fantasy tale of a woman’s determination in time of war.
Tales of Erana: The Warrior’s Curse – Narrated by Rob Goll only £1.55
He who bargains with monsters beware! A hero forges an unholy bargain with a witch and learns magic never forgets.
Kitchen Imps and Other Dark Tales – Narrated by J Scott Bennettonly £2.99
adbl.co/2b8oxRZ
Naughty imps, missing socks, cunning thieves and baffled gods feature in this collection of short fantasy fiction.
