Want to star in a published horror story (for free)?

I recently introduced the option to buy a copy of Savage Fire and have it include a personalized dedication to you (or to the name you request). I am intrigued by the idea of customized stories, so I am making an offer to you, my loyal readers.

Pick one of the stories below, each taken from Savage Fire, and tell me which character you would like to be, and what format is easiest for you, Kindle (.mobi), Nook (.epub) or PDF. In stories with multiple characters, you can choose names for any secondary characters listed if you like. Post in the comments (or via Facebook, Twitter DM or email, whatever) the story and name(s), and I'll send you that story with the names altered appropriately. No cost.

If you want to go one step further, order the book from this page (see Buy Now on right), and I'll include the customized story in the full set, as well as dedicating it. Otherwise, if you don't order, you will get a single story.

"Savage Fire": In this tale of Victorian England where the undead walk, Richard Galworthy is the protagonist behind the Alchemy, and the subject of his experiments is Sir Julian Wattford. (Full male names only, one or both of the two characters can be named)

"Awake in the Age of Lizards": Tommy Gwen’cher is the only named character is this short, bizarro piece with religious undertones and large bipedal lizards. (Either male or female, full name)

"An Island Never Cries": In this story of bloodthirsty urges, Kate is the young lady who is bitten, and goes out to wreak havoc on the people in her life, her friends Jasmine and Carla, a football hottie named Sam Taylor, and an innocent man who suffers anyway named Tim Davis. (Female first name for Kate and first name of either of the two girls or full names of the two males)

"Unfinished Business": Pamela is dead, but horny as hell. Her partners in the story are Robert Wilson, Jimmy and Becky (yes, they all get some), and her enemy is Jacob. Would you like to star in this steamy zombie story? (female first name for Pamela and first names for one or more of the other three males or the female)

If anybody has a special favorite among the other twelve stories, let me know and I'll see what I can do. Please let friends know as well, as I'd like to have some fun with this.

TGIF! Celebrating with 50% off sale this weekend only

Thank God It's Friday! To celebrate, get a copy of Savage Fire for 50% off on #Smashwords using coupon FW77X

Valid through Sunday $1.49 at Smashwords page

Heck, for that price, pick up a copy for a friend.

Second day sales results

It's a bit hard to pinpoint sales since Amazon waits so long to post results (Smashwords is virtually instantaneous), but the current results shown are:

Amazon US: 11 sales
Amazon UK: 2 sales
Amazon Germany: 0 sales
Smashwords: 3 sales
B&N (not available until Smashwords accepts into Premium catalog)
Kobo (not available until Smashwords accepts into Premium catalog)

So, a grand total of 16 sales in two days. Obviously, that rate won't necessarily keep up, although I have a variety of people who are reading and planning on reviewing, which should help.

According to a statistic I saw today (unverified), only 5 out of a 1000 books published sells 100 or more copies. Using that as a very rough benchmark, I have 84 copies left to sell to break into the top half a percent. Scary!

My first review for Savage Fire - Five stars

It is nerve-wracking waiting for your first review of your first book, but it was worth the wait. I got a five star review that said:

Sixteen short stories, all of them different from each other except that most are ironic or dark. My favorite is one called "Worth Watching", because of its central character. No spoilers in this review, but let's say the story contains an unexpected, fun twist. Solid work on the Victorian dialects in the opening tale, "Savage Fire", and weird, beautiful prose poetry elsewhere in the volume. The inclusion of an old-fashioned, hard-boiled detective short story was a pleasant surprise. Worth buying.

Wow! Thanks, P. Teintze!

You can order your own copy from Amazon or from Smashwords.

Thanks to all the readers supporting me. You make it worth writing. Oh, and please review the book after you read it, even if you can't give a five star review. All feedback is appreciated, whether it is on Amazon, Goodreads, Smashwords or your own blog.

Savage Fire Table of Contents

Four days until Savage Fire is released, so I thought I'd list the table of contents:

1) Savage Fire (Victorian undead goodness)
2) Awake in the Age of Lizards (bizarro)
3) An Island Never Cries (bloodthirsty horror)
4) Who's Watching (odd thriller)
5) Double Cross (noir intrigue)
6) Saving Grace (haunted horror)
7) Unsettled Hearts (action Western)
8) Got It? (dark comedy)
9) So Pretty (mythological dark comedy)
10) Missing You (dark)
11) If Not Mistaken (bizarro)
12) The Sea Witch's Daughter (dark fairytale)
13) Blood Feast (beastly horror)
14) Unfinished Business (erotic horror comedy)
15) Last Stop (dark dialogue)
16) Without Remorse (beastly horror)

Yup, sixteen stories in a wide variety of styles.  Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Log of live tweets for I Wish by Wren Emerson

 

In case anybody missed the fun, I decided to preserve the tweets I made while live-tweeting my reading of Wren Emerson's YA paranormal, I Wish... (The Witches of Desire).

The rules, as I have defined them for myself, are one tweet per chapter, each a rhyming couplet which reflects the action in the chapter, or perhaps reflects on it, but without giving too much away. If you have already bought a copy of the book, or if you click on the link above and buy it now for only 99 cents, you can check after each chapter and see if you agree with the tweet.

Feel free to offer a couplet of your own in the comments if you think you can do better than I did. In any case, buy a copy and support a poor, starving author (starving when she isn't buying celebratory pancakes for herself and minions). If you want to read the many pleas and chit chat also tagged with the hash tag #witchesofdesire, just click on it and read for yourself.

   

@blanghinrichs May 18, 2011 Approx 8:00pm

Live tweeting 'I Wish': Ch. 1) Thistles tries to save her fanny, but don't watch Shep, watch out for granny! #witchesofdesire

@blanghinrichs May 18, 2011 Approx 8:30pm

Live tweeting 'I Wish': Ch. 2) It's clean and lush; it's named Desire, but not a taste she'd soon acquire #witchesofdesire

@blanghinrichs May 18, 2011 Approx 9:00pm

Live tweeting 'I Wish': Ch. 3) First Ben, then Evan, how'd a girl get so lucky? If not for the women, life'd all be ducky. #witchesofdesire

@blanghinrichs May 18, 2011 Approx 9:45pm

Live tweeting 'I Wish': Ch. 4) You've got a talent, girl, that can't be beat, but others are jealous. Be light on your feet #witchesofdesire

@blanghinrichs May 18, 2011 Approx 11:30pm

Live tweeting 'I Wish': Ch. 6) Gallant boy silenced by an evil mother. He hates the system, but won't leave it for another. #witchesofdesire

@blanghinrichs May 19, 2011 Approx 3pm

Live tweeting 'I Wish': Ch. 7) Revelations fly like angry bees, but the worst is the fault of her cavalier pleas #witchesofdesire #pubwrite

@blanghinrichs May 19, 2011 Approx 6:00pm

Live tweeting 'I Wish': Ch. 8) Beware the assailant who creeps near unseen. Stay alert, stay awake, or she'll never be seen #witchesofdesire

@blanghinrichs May 19, 2011 Approx 6:45pm 

Live tweeting 'I Wish': Ch. 9) An uneasy truce descends on them all, but Thistle finds solace; she makes a tough call #witchesofdesire

Before You Compete

As the sound of applause dies down, you watch her glide off the ice. She flashes a quick grin at her coach, who throws his arms around and says in a gruff Russian accent, "You were wonderful. You've never skated better."

Shrugging, you head out onto the ice. The Olympic crowd stills, and you sense the anticipation in the air. You focus to get yourself in the zone, and listen as the first notes of  your song, your music burst forth, and the judges lean forward. Suddenly, you are struck by a thought, "I wonder if I should have practiced this routine first."

Unrealistic, perhaps, but a surprising number of authors put in the months and years of effort to write and polish, submit and wait, and never think about the next step. Even with a publishing contract from a top publishing firm, if you are so skilled and persistent and lucky as to get one, you are the only person who is 100% committed to the unique goal of getting your book to sell.