A.L. Butcher's Blog, page 179
October 19, 2014
Thunderclap Campaigns – the basics
Thunderclap seems to be one of the new mass social media sensations. So what DOES it do?
From the Thunderclap Page. https://www.thunderclap.it/
‘What is Thunderclap?
Thunderclap is the first crowd-speaking platform that helps people be heard by saying something together.’
‘How does it work?
If you reach your supporter goal, Thunderclap will blast out a timed Twitter, Facebook, or Tumblr post from all your supporters, creating a wave of attention.’
So basically you set up your Thunderclap, be it for your book promotion, charity event or something else and for the ‘spark’ package it is free. This need 100 supporters within the designated time – after which it shares the promotion on the Twitter, Facebook and/or Tumblr sites of supporters.
It is, of course, up to the Thunderclapper him or herself to gain the support, and one thing I found with my first attempt – people are quite willing to share on twitter but don’t actually manage to click the Thunderclap link and follow the instructions. Although sharing the link IS useful it isn’t as useful as actually supporting! I’d say too pick a reasonable time period in which to promote. Not all campaigns are successful, and not all will get the desired result. However it does appear to be a good way to reach new followers, especially via Twitter.
Supporters need to click on the RED ‘Support with’ buttons – Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and these will go grey when supported. In the left hand image below the Facebook and Twitter buttons are grey, as I have supported using these but the Tumblr button remains unused. There are also ‘Spread the Word’ icons – which can be clicked multiple times.
You’ll get an update via email every day and people can choose or not to receive emails on forthcoming campaigns.
The wider reach and fancier promotions cost money but as a basic starting package free cannot be knocked;)
Here is the link to my current Thunderclap Campaign. https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/1...
Sunday Surprise
Here’s my latest author spotlight – hurrah!
Originally posted on creative barbwire (or the many lives of a creator):
Did you support her Thunderclap? Yes? No? Well, she’s back anyway. She was already in Wyrd Worlds, but she’s also in Wyrd Worlds 2. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome back A.L. Butcher!
Where do you live and write from?
I live in Bristol, in the South West of the UK. It’s an historic city, John Cabot sailed from Bristol to America, Isambard Kingdom Brunel built bridges and railways here, and there has been a settlement in these parts since the Stone Age.
When did you start writing?
At school, same as everyone else…. Seriously though I assume you mean storytelling? I was always an imaginative child, I was the one writing the poem/short story for the school display or off somewhere in my own head. I’ve written poetry for as long as I can remember and stories almost as long. OK, a fair few were best not…
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October 18, 2014
Character Interview Number Thirty One – Paul – Thriller/Dark Fiction
Tell Us About Yourself
Name: *clears throat and glares*
Paul and I’m not telling you my last name so don’t ask.
Do you have a moral code? If so what is it?
Morality? With the things I’ve done, sweetheart, there aren’t enough hours in the day to answer that question.
Do you like animals? Do you have any pets/animal companions?
No. Humans are hard enough to be around.
Do you have a family? Tell us about them.
*frowns and looks at the floor*
….I used to. They…They’re not…look, forget it, all right? Next question.
Do you have any phobias?
Yeah. Being killed. That’s a huge phobia of mine.
Tell Us About Your World
Please give us a little information about the world in which you live.
It’s dark, it’s mean and if you’re lucky, you won’t get shot.
Do you travel in the course of your adventures? If so where?
Wherever my list takes me, which is pretty much anywhere in the US. Nothing outside the country—makes it harder to get around.
Does your world have magic? If so how is it viewed in your world?
Magic? Does coming back from the dead count?
What form of politics is dominant in your world? (Democracy, Theocracy, Meritocracy, Monarchy, Kakistocracy etc.)
Dictatorship, through and through. There’s no such thing as thinking for yourself—that’s one of the most dangerous things you can do.
Does your world have any supernatural/mystical beings? Please tell us about some.
*fidgets and looks over his shoulder*
*sweat pops up over his forehead*
I used to think there was no such thing…but I was wrong.
Author notes:
Book in which this character appears plus links:
Lights Out
Even when the lights are out, he can still see you…
Paul Holten’s profession doesn’t leave much room for doubt or conscience but he’s reaching his breaking point. The nightmares are getting worse, the jobs are getting harder to finish and the volatile relationship with his boss, Aaron, is falling apart. Now faced with the possibility of an impending death sentence, Paul makes the fatal decision to run. Drawn into one hellish situation after another, he’s forced to confront his dark past—and wonder if perhaps dying isn’t the better option.
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00H51R2AS
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lights-out-melissa-groeling/1117540680?ean=2940148946137
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/379110
ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-lightsout-1369485-235.html
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19270732-lights-out
Author name
Melissa Groeling
Melissa Groeling graduated from Bloomsburg University with a degree in English. She lives, reads and writes in the Philadelphia region and wherever else life happens to send her. She is a hardcore New York Giants fan and loves chocolate. Lights Out is her second novel to date.
Website/Blog/Author pages etc.
http://www.facebook.com/melissa.groeling
https://twitter.com/#!/stringbean10
http://melissagroeling.blogspot.com/
October 17, 2014
Cover Designer Interview Number Seven – Mia Darien
Hi and welcome to the Library of Erana, please tell us a little about yourself. I’m Mia Darien. I am a Jill of Many Trades…although mostly in the worlds of words.
You are a cover designer, what made you decide to get into this line of work? Honestly? Because it’s fun. I like messing around with Photoshop and graphic images. I started making my own book covers, and decided I wanted to do it for others.
Can you tell us about some of the covers you’ve designed and authors you’ve worked with? (Name of books, authors you’ve worked with etc.) I’ve been happy to do covers for BR Kingsolver, author of the Telepathic Clans Saga, as well as Delancey Stewart, Jessica Nicholls, Crystal G. Smith, and Diana L. Wicker, the Tales from Feyron series. Kingsolver’s was particularly fun because I got to make a woman cast lightning from her hands.
Can you tell us what is involved? (I have no clue so you can be as elaborate as you like!) It starts with the author and their images for the cover. Usually, I get images from them, but if not, I’ll scour stock photo sites for stuff. Send them download previews, make concept drafts, which look awful but give the idea. Then when we strike on a concept we like, I take the images and make the prettier version. I send each iteration to the author, who may suggest changes, and once the author is happy, they get their cover art.
Software used – where you source your images, how long a cover takes etc. I use Adobe Photoshop, get the images from the author or from BigStockPhoto.com. The time a cover takes varies on how hard it is, how complex, etc., can be anywhere from thirty minutes to several hours.
Where does your inspiration come from? Do you read the book first, then come up with a design, or can you produce something from an author’s description? I can’t possibly always read the book before working on a cover. I just don’t always have the time, so I work entirely from the author’s ideas and description, bouncing them between us and then the draft images until we settle on something the author is happy with. If I have read the book, however, I’ll offer what suggestions and input I can.
What are your thoughts on ‘generic’ covers – such as a sword or throne and skulls for fantasy, or interchangeable torsos for romance? I don’t like them as much, but I can understand why they’re used.
When you buy a book do you look at the cover first? What else attracts you? What turns you off? The cover is always the first draw. You can’t JUDGE a book by its cover, but it is your first impression of it. I like covers that evoke an emotion, or curiosity. That are well put together. I tend to like people on covers, but it’s not a requirement. Honestly, I’ve become a bit of a cover snob. Books with covers that obviously didn’t have much thought or time put into them, or seemingly care of any kind, will turn me away.
What advice would you give to anyone starting out in this line of work or who might want to design a cover? Learn the software past the basics. You don’t need to be an expert, but learn what you’re doing. Otherwise, just start playing. Start that way and you learn how things work, then you get it.
What are your thoughts on sites like Fiverr where people can buy covers cheaply? Do you think they encourage substandard or very generic images? I’m not familiar with the site, actually. I don’t know that it does encourage those things. It may, but I try not to judge. As long as the cover can at least look put together, a less expensive or “generic” cover isn’t always bad.
Do you have a genre you prefer? Not really. I’m happy to do any kind of cover.
Please tell us about your favourite image and the favourite cover you have worked on? One of my favorite covers was actually one of my own, for “Welcome to Adelheid,” namely because the woman in the stock photo didn’t have a shirt under the jacket which was partially open down the front. Since the books aren’t romance, I didn’t want to mislead readers. So I created a shirt and almost no one (that’s told me, at least) was able to tell. I’ve always been proud of that.
Can you give us a silly fact about yourself? When I have a patch of free time, I like to play World of Warcraft. I tend to shout things at my characters, other people’s characters, animals in the area…
Blog/website links etc.
PLEASE SUPPORT “THE OWL OF THE SIPAN LORD” by Viv Drewa on Thundercap
Originally posted on theowlladyblog:
“THE OWL OF THE SIPAN LORD” by Viv Drewa
Clare, after battling with an evil red-eyed spirit, solves her husbands murder and a 1300 year old mystery.
Please click on the link below to show your support.
http://www.thunderclap.it/projects/17507-paranormal-action-thriller
October 16, 2014
Please support “The Light Beyond the Storm Chronicles” by A.L. Butcher on Thunderclap
Here’s the link to my Thunderclap.
Originally posted on theowlladyblog:
“The Light Beyond the Storm Chronicles” by Alexandra Butcher- magic and mayhem in a dark fantasy world. Feel the storm rage!
To show your support please click on the link below:
http://thndr.it/1tochzC
Character Interview Number Thirty Daemon Grim
In the run up to Halloween I’d like to return to Hell and meet some more of its denizens.
Welcome to the Hell Interview Channel, brought to you infernally hour after hour.
Name: My name is Daemon Grim
Age (before death and after you ended up in HSM’s domain): I have no idea. I only know I look about thirty-five years old.
Please tell us a little about yourself. I’m the Reaper. And yes, before you ask, I’m that Reaper, Satan’s bounty hunter. As the title implies, I hunt down and silence anyone who is – or is likely to become – a threat to public security, or an embarrassment to His infernal or demonestic policies.
Who were you in life? Please see below answer.
How do you think you ended up in Hell? What sins have you committed? Who I was before I came to Hell, or what I did, I haven’t got a clue. There’s a hole in my mind that prevents the retention of any memories from the time before. My first recollections are of waking up before a roaring log fire, in the presence of His Satanic Majesty himself, and being welcomed home like a long lost son. It was He who invited me into his inner circle, and appointed me to what was to become my true vocation. I haven’t looked back since.
Describe your appearance in 10 words or less. Your worst nightmare, squeezed into a kick-ass, gothic ensemble.
Where do you live in Hell? Tell us about your residence and area. My suite is situated at the top of Black Tower, in what humans would call, the Tower of London, smack-bang in the middle of Olde London Town itself. For those who don’t know, that’s in the Juxtapose level of Hell. I’ve lived there since I can remember. My Hell Hounds, (fellow bounty hunters) and the Inquisitors, (Satan’s Special Interrogators), have their own apartments there as well, so we can be close to our base of operations.
The entire complex and grounds is known throughout the many layers of the Underworld as the Den of Iniquity, but my team and I just refer to it as The Den.
Juxtapose is a great place to live, as its environs constantly blend into other epochs and levels of Hell. You can be walking along a busy, traffic-clogged street one minute, and find yourself having to jump out of the way of a horse-drawn carriage as it clatters along cobbled roads the next. It’s confusing when you first arrive, but once you get used to it, well…I wouldn’t want to stay anywhere else.
Do you have a moral code? If so what is it? Is your moral code the same as it was in life? Yes, I have a moral code, I never lie. That might sound weird, coming from a denizen of Hell, but I’m keenly aware of how my role reflects on Satan’s integrity. So, I always ensure to act in a way that can never be criticized. And when it comes down to it, I’ve found displaying such a trait really strikes fear into the hearts of my prey. Once I’ve been set on you, there’s no escape. I can’t be bribed, fooled, or conned. I don’t feel sorrow or remorse. If you appear on my list, you’re dead. You might as well turn yourself in at the Undertakers and save yourself a lot of bother. Annoy me and make me work for it – and I’ll let my Inquisitors cut you up and feed the choicest parts back, bit by juicy bit, before they let you pass on.
Would you kill for those you love? After all sending someone to the Undertaker is not very nice! I do kill for the one I love! Satan is like the father I never had. I will execute anyone and everyone who crosses him. And sending scum back to the Undertakers is my soul – excuse the pun – purpose in this afterlife. Never forget that. It might save you a whole mountain of grief in the future.
Would you die for those you love? Die, being a relative term…. I’m already dead and impossibly hard to kill. And as I intimated in the last question, I would do absolutely anything for my Dark Father. Your readers need to understand, I’m one hundred percent loyal, and the quickest way to incur my wrath is to try and corrupt me. Don’t ever make that mistake, as my team and I are incredibly inventive when it comes to ways of making you suffer. So inventive, we’ve even made the Undertaker hurl.
Do you have any phobias? Are you plagued by anything particular in Hell? Other than the dread of not being able to track down and capture a fugitive from injustice, I don’t have any phobias. But I must admit, when I’ve been away from the Bâlefire for too long, I get plagued by the strangest dreams of falling stars, burning skies, and gaping pits of dense darkness from which nothing can escape. If only I could understand what they all mean, I think I’d be that bit closer to understanding my origins.
What do you think Satan’s most creative punishment is here? Ha! Without a doubt, the twisted idea of giving the masses what they crave, so long as it’s perverted in some way. For example, there’s nothing quite like witnessing the suffering of some poor fool who happens to be the world’s most accomplished pianist, only to watch him literally crash and burn before an audience. And there’s so many ways to torment them! I’ve watched several souls begin to play, only to forget how to read music midway through their recital. In other cases, their fingers might break during the chorus, or they’ll be driven mad by the notes they hear. I’ve even heard of one idiot who was determined to create a new opus magnum, despite the fact Satan had blighted their hearing, and cursed them with a form of tonal dyslexia. It was hilarious listening to the beginning of an absolute masterpiece, only to watch the performance disintegrate into utter farce by the close of the first movement, because what they’d written ended up sounding like total gibberish.
Brilliant!
You can probably appreciate why I love it here so much.
Who are your friends here? Because of the sheer volume of souls I’m sent to reap, I keep my circle of friends small, and limit them to just the Hell Hounds and the Inquisitors.
For those who don’t know them, the Hell Hounds are as follows:
Nimrod, King of Shinar, and my lead Hound. A mighty hunter in opposition to God. Then there’s Yamato Takeru, otherwise known as Prince Ōsu. Yamato is a legendary ninja killer from first century Japan, who brutally murdered everyone who ever stood in his way. My final hunter is a guy called Champ Ferguson, a notorious Confederate guerilla fighter from the American Civil War.
Then we come to the Inquisitors.
First of all, I have to mention the person who keeps me sane. Strawberry Fields, aka Red Riding Hood. She’s a siren of death who will happily eat your liver as she showers you with kisses.
Then there’s Leonard Skeffington, a previous Lieutenant of the Tower of London itself. We affectionately refer to him by the pseudonym, Crusher, as he invented several remarkable torture devices in life that we still use today.
Baron Ferenc Nádasdy, a sixteenth century Hungarian nobleman, and his wife, Elizabeth Báthory come next. While relationships are usually frowned upon in the Underworld, His Satanic Majesty has made an exception for these two.
Ferenc goes by the codename, Red Baron, a tongue-in-cheek reference to the foes he has vanquished in battle. For a denizen of Hell, he’s an honorable man, who prefers to give prisoners a chance to spill the beans before he spills their guts. History refers to his wife as, ‘the Blood Countess’, but we know her as, Nutcracker Sweet, because of her fetish for crushing certain parts of male prisoners anatomy.
Finally, there’s Myra Belle Star, aka, Black Velvet. An infamous outlaw from the end of the nineteenth century, Myra is a crack shot, who has adapted to the position of Inquisitor rather well.
Who are your enemies? Everyone who has ever been condemned to Hell, for I’ve reaped their souls a thousand times, and will continue to do so until creation falls. Then there’s the Sibitti of course. I have a special ‘hate – hate’ relationship with them.
***Kisses guys – I’m keeping my scythe extra sharp – see you soon***
If I recall relationships are… difficult, is this the side of humanity you miss the most? As I mentioned, I don’t recall anything about my previous life. However, I am one of the few denizens who is allowed the freedom of expressing my desires in any way I wish. Of course, my Dark Father has seen fit to capitalize on this golden opportunity in a typically sadistic way. Remember, anyone I touch – skin to skin – dies instantly. A bit of a bummer during those intimate moments, unless that person also happens to have special dispensation, of course.
Ah, you’ve gotta love His sense of humor!
Please give us an interesting and unusual fact about yourself. Despite the fact I’m out and out evil, I have to recharge my essence on a regular basis in one of the most powerful satanic power sources in existence, the Bâlefire. Without its arcane puissance, I would lose my augmented strength and become like anyone else. Weak and pathetic.
Apart from that? I’m really light on my feet, and just so happen to be a pretty good dancer. I’d be fantastic, if I could just get a partner who managed to stay alive long enough.
Book(s) in which this character appears plus links
The forthcoming “Doctors in Hell” anthology.
AND
Stay tuned…you’ll be seeing much more of Daemon Grim in the future…
Author name
Andrew P. Weston
Website/Blog/Author pages etc.
Website: www.andrewpweston.com
Blog: http://andrewpweston.blogspot.gr/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/WestonAndrew
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Andrew-P-Weston-Author/102335216581151?ref=hl
Author Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Andrew-P-Weston-Author/102335216581151?ref=hl
Amazon Author Page:
http://www.amazon.com/Andrew-P-Weston/e/B00F3BL6GS/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
October 15, 2014
Please support “Tales From Feyron” by Diana L. Wicker on Thunderclap
Originally posted on theowlladyblog:
“Legacy of Mist and Shadow – Available 12/20/14 – preorder now.
Buy, read, like, share. Are you part of the Legacy?
Click on the link below to show your support:
http://thndr.it/1vcHORv”
THE COMYENTI SERIES by Natasja Hellenthal- an introduction
Nice looking series.
Originally posted on natasjahellenthal:
This series introduces a unique humanoid species: comyentis who can merge their minds with animals to gain special powers for the greater good. They are beautiful empaths with a love in their heart for all life. But who are they truly? And where do they come from?
Why are they on the planet Bhan? What is their tragic history with humans; their number one enemy, and how come comyenti’s with all their power were once overpowered? Can they come to terms with that and overcome their aversion to humans? What is their one weakness and how can they rise above this? Can comyenti Sula accept being stuck in between two worlds? Can any comyenti really and should they? How powerful are the comyenti’s really? What will the future hold for the comyenti species if they survive at all?
Book One: ‘Call Off The Search’ introduces Sula Comyenti, a nomad halfling…
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Writing Wednesday Workshop: Creating Memorable Main Characters
Character writing tips.
Originally posted on Princess of the Light: Shining the Light For All:
Ask any reader what makes a book outstanding and 9/10 people will tell you it’s the connection with the characters. Characters bring the book to life and trust me, you want your main characters to leap off the page. For this week’s workshop, we’re going to talk about how to make your main characters memorable.
As an avid reader, one of the first things I look at when deciding to buy a book is the blurb. As I read the blurb, I ask myself if I find the character interesting or intriguing. Is the conflict clear? Is it believable? My answers will determine if I buy the book.
The same is true for me when writing. I look at my story through the eyes of a reader. Do I find Mary interesting? Is the conflict between Mary and the demons clear? Is it believable?
Read the quote from Sue Monk…
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