Greg Strandberg's Blog, page 4
May 16, 2015
100 Goodreads Posts
Wow, this is my 100th blog post on Goodreads.
I could go into a long-winded reflection and thank you post, but I wont.
I could go into a long-winded reflection and thank you post, but I wont.
May 7, 2015
Colter’s Winter
A week or so ago I put out my latest novel, Colter's Winter.
It’s set in 1806 and profiles mountain man John Colter. He was one of the 33 men of the Lewis & Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery. They’d been tasked by President Jefferson with heading up the Missouri River, into the vast new Louisiana Purchase. They set out in 1803 and didn’t get back to St. Louis until 1806.
One man didn’t arrive back in St. Louis with them, however, and he wouldn’t for years. That was John Colter. He left the men in August to guide two fur trappers upstream. After that we have no idea what he did, though we have hints.
I use those hints to construct a thrilling and exciting mystery novel. There are Indians and the precursors of cowboys, the fur trapper.
If you like adventure, you’ll like this novel. I’ll be giving three print copies away this month, and you can enter the giveaway here. Just two days left! Thanks for reading!
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...
Colter's Winter
It’s set in 1806 and profiles mountain man John Colter. He was one of the 33 men of the Lewis & Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery. They’d been tasked by President Jefferson with heading up the Missouri River, into the vast new Louisiana Purchase. They set out in 1803 and didn’t get back to St. Louis until 1806.
One man didn’t arrive back in St. Louis with them, however, and he wouldn’t for years. That was John Colter. He left the men in August to guide two fur trappers upstream. After that we have no idea what he did, though we have hints.
I use those hints to construct a thrilling and exciting mystery novel. There are Indians and the precursors of cowboys, the fur trapper.
If you like adventure, you’ll like this novel. I’ll be giving three print copies away this month, and you can enter the giveaway here. Just two days left! Thanks for reading!
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...
Colter's Winter
April 19, 2015
New Fantasy Maps
If you haven’t checked out the Jongurian novels yet, please do. I just had two new maps made, one for each continent – Adjuria and Jonguria.
For those that don’t know, this is like medieval Europe and ancient China, and they don’t much like each other. There’s a history of war, but now the two nations are trying to bind their wounds with trade. Unfortunately, others view these attempts at peace as a chance to wage war, and even usurp crowns.
If political intrigue, fast-paced action, and economic warfare intrigue you, then check out these books. Thanks for reading!
The Jongurian Mission
Trouble in Jonguria
The Jongurian Resolution
For those that don’t know, this is like medieval Europe and ancient China, and they don’t much like each other. There’s a history of war, but now the two nations are trying to bind their wounds with trade. Unfortunately, others view these attempts at peace as a chance to wage war, and even usurp crowns.
If political intrigue, fast-paced action, and economic warfare intrigue you, then check out these books. Thanks for reading!
The Jongurian Mission
Trouble in Jonguria
The Jongurian Resolution
April 5, 2015
Hirelings Giveaway
From April 6 until April 30 you can enter a giveaway for The Hirelings.
This is a 246-page epic fantasy adventure that will appeal to D&D fans and those that like gritty reads.
Yes, this book has some rough language, graphic violence, and real world problems. It talks about economics, applying these principles to the spell trade, monster-fighting-mercenaries, and corrupt kings.
I'd like to say dungeon crawl, but there's not a lot of dungeons. There's a lot of fighting and 'bad guys' getting killed, though, plus a fight through a wizard's mansion and up a dragon's mountain. Another thing with this book is that good and bad are hard to tell apart.
Anyways, I could go on forever. The important thing is that you have until the end of April to enter. Think about it and think about telling you friends.
Thanks for reading!
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
The Hirelings
This is a 246-page epic fantasy adventure that will appeal to D&D fans and those that like gritty reads.
Yes, this book has some rough language, graphic violence, and real world problems. It talks about economics, applying these principles to the spell trade, monster-fighting-mercenaries, and corrupt kings.
I'd like to say dungeon crawl, but there's not a lot of dungeons. There's a lot of fighting and 'bad guys' getting killed, though, plus a fight through a wizard's mansion and up a dragon's mountain. Another thing with this book is that good and bad are hard to tell apart.
Anyways, I could go on forever. The important thing is that you have until the end of April to enter. Think about it and think about telling you friends.
Thanks for reading!
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
The Hirelings
March 31, 2015
Just Stop
I’m sick of it, I’m just so sick of it.
ARC Reviews, Free Giveaways, Book Releases, New and Nifty.
Alright, I made that last one up, but I bet Goodreads will add it soon. Yeah, I’m talking about BS emails and “events” that keep clogging my inbox.
I suppose some of these could be coming from my friends or followers or whatever. But gosh, I don’t really want them. I want to add up all the books I’ve ever read, with nice images of their covers. I want to write reviews for myself, not for the author or anyone else. If you want to like it or read it, fine…but that part of my life is in the past.
I guess I’m just miffed that Goodreads is full of rubbish. And I’m an author! I guess the difference is that I pretty much use this site as authors should – word count boosters.
Yes, on those days when I feel I haven’t written enough, I’ll come here and review a few old fantasy or sci-fi books. Just 3 books usually gets me a few hundred words, and I feel a lot better about myself. Since I’m an author, I like to think those other authors – you know, the one’s whose books I reviewed – also feel good.
But enough already with the emails telling me something! Just let me read, Goodreads!
ARC Reviews, Free Giveaways, Book Releases, New and Nifty.
Alright, I made that last one up, but I bet Goodreads will add it soon. Yeah, I’m talking about BS emails and “events” that keep clogging my inbox.
I suppose some of these could be coming from my friends or followers or whatever. But gosh, I don’t really want them. I want to add up all the books I’ve ever read, with nice images of their covers. I want to write reviews for myself, not for the author or anyone else. If you want to like it or read it, fine…but that part of my life is in the past.
I guess I’m just miffed that Goodreads is full of rubbish. And I’m an author! I guess the difference is that I pretty much use this site as authors should – word count boosters.
Yes, on those days when I feel I haven’t written enough, I’ll come here and review a few old fantasy or sci-fi books. Just 3 books usually gets me a few hundred words, and I feel a lot better about myself. Since I’m an author, I like to think those other authors – you know, the one’s whose books I reviewed – also feel good.
But enough already with the emails telling me something! Just let me read, Goodreads!
March 28, 2015
Thankful
I’m real thankful for the readers I have. Several of the books I have on this site are rated well. I don’t have any bad reviews, really. What’s more, many of my books are marked as ‘to-read’ by many people.
So that feels good. I’m very lucky to have a job as a writer where I can stay home and write stories I like. I can research interesting historical accounts I enjoy, and there’s a good chance I’ll get some money from it.
Wow, that’s great! So thanks a lot everyone. And thanks for reading cool books and keeping my update feed interesting. Not a week goes by that I don’t see some awesome sci-fi or fantasy novel cover. Usually these are older books that I had no idea of, but because you and others like you are reading them, I see them and can add them too.
Pretty cool how that works out! Thanks again!
So that feels good. I’m very lucky to have a job as a writer where I can stay home and write stories I like. I can research interesting historical accounts I enjoy, and there’s a good chance I’ll get some money from it.
Wow, that’s great! So thanks a lot everyone. And thanks for reading cool books and keeping my update feed interesting. Not a week goes by that I don’t see some awesome sci-fi or fantasy novel cover. Usually these are older books that I had no idea of, but because you and others like you are reading them, I see them and can add them too.
Pretty cool how that works out! Thanks again!
March 20, 2015
275 Reviews
I’ve written 275 reviews on Goodreads now, and I feel pretty good about that. If you look at my profile you’ll see that I have 475 ratings, so there are still about 200 books that I’ve read that I haven’t reviewed yet. I’m getting there.
My average star-rating is 3.62, according to my Goodreads profile. I feel that’s fair. I have a few books that I do give 1- or 2-star reviews to, and I kind of feel bad about this. I’m an author and have 50 books out, and getting bad reviews sucks. But sometimes I do this.
Why? It could be a lousy cooking book with tons of spelling mistakes and a length of 3 pages. It could also be that I just hated the story. Also, I don’t give out that many 5-star reviews, so this also lowers my average.
But who the heck am I trying to explain myself to? If you put your book out there, it’s out there – anyone can say anything about it. But some people have more class when it comes to saying things than others. I’d like to think I do, and my 275 reviews prove it.
Thanks for reading!
My average star-rating is 3.62, according to my Goodreads profile. I feel that’s fair. I have a few books that I do give 1- or 2-star reviews to, and I kind of feel bad about this. I’m an author and have 50 books out, and getting bad reviews sucks. But sometimes I do this.
Why? It could be a lousy cooking book with tons of spelling mistakes and a length of 3 pages. It could also be that I just hated the story. Also, I don’t give out that many 5-star reviews, so this also lowers my average.
But who the heck am I trying to explain myself to? If you put your book out there, it’s out there – anyone can say anything about it. But some people have more class when it comes to saying things than others. I’d like to think I do, and my 275 reviews prove it.
Thanks for reading!
March 17, 2015
Writing Fantasy Fiction
About a week ago I started a series of posts on my website about writing fantasy. The main post is called How to Write Fantasy Fiction, and it’s right here:
http://www.bigskywords.com/writing-bl...
You’ll get tips and tricks on how to make your fantasy world, and how you can do worldbuilding.
Yeah, fantasy worldbuilding – it’s important. I’ve written several fantasy novels, and I like it a lot.
See what I’m talking about by reading this series of blog posts. Thanks!
http://www.bigskywords.com/writing-bl...
You’ll get tips and tricks on how to make your fantasy world, and how you can do worldbuilding.
Yeah, fantasy worldbuilding – it’s important. I’ve written several fantasy novels, and I like it a lot.
See what I’m talking about by reading this series of blog posts. Thanks!
March 3, 2015
I Left a Group
I just left the group called The Life of a Book Addict.
Why did I do this?
The main reason is because I get so many emails about free books. The founder of this group sends about 5 to 6 emails a week saying there are free books from publishers.
I just don’t care. It’s not why I joined the group. But I live with it.
That is until today, when the group head sent out this email:
You guys getting tired of book give aways? I've received several emails about members complaining about getting too many emails from us. I don't know how else to give away books! I'm not sure that some of you know how much of my times this takes. I have ten notebooks filled with info from over 10 marketing reps at different publishing houses in NY. I work full-time and this seriously takes up all my free time. What started off small is now huge. I don't even have time to read. So if you don't like the emails just don't read them. Now let's move on.
This group is just not for me anymore. I feel that the founder doesn’t really care that much about their group anymore. So I left.
Why did I do this?
The main reason is because I get so many emails about free books. The founder of this group sends about 5 to 6 emails a week saying there are free books from publishers.
I just don’t care. It’s not why I joined the group. But I live with it.
That is until today, when the group head sent out this email:
You guys getting tired of book give aways? I've received several emails about members complaining about getting too many emails from us. I don't know how else to give away books! I'm not sure that some of you know how much of my times this takes. I have ten notebooks filled with info from over 10 marketing reps at different publishing houses in NY. I work full-time and this seriously takes up all my free time. What started off small is now huge. I don't even have time to read. So if you don't like the emails just don't read them. Now let's move on.
This group is just not for me anymore. I feel that the founder doesn’t really care that much about their group anymore. So I left.
February 26, 2015
Good February
I spent a lot of time this February moving things around, bookwise. I took all my books off Smashwords and put them on Draft 2 Digital, all that is except my two perma-free books.
I also put a lot more books into print format, about fifteen or so.
I’ll be writing on all of this on my website, www.bigskywords.com
I do that each month when I have a new monthly report appear, a habit I’ve been doing for nearly two years. In fact, March 4 marks my site’s 2-year birthday, so check it out.
Thanks!
I also put a lot more books into print format, about fifteen or so.
I’ll be writing on all of this on my website, www.bigskywords.com
I do that each month when I have a new monthly report appear, a habit I’ve been doing for nearly two years. In fact, March 4 marks my site’s 2-year birthday, so check it out.
Thanks!
