The End of Innocence

Reblogged from Flash Point Theatre:

“I came here as soon as I could,” I said setting down in the freshly cut grass.

The sun peaked up over the distant rolling hillside casting a violet hue into the drifting cirrus clouds.

“I would have gotten here sooner, but my tour didn’t end until just last week.”

I brought my knees up and huddled them close to my chest.

Read more… 648 more words

More With Less: Space-saving Tips In Packing For Your Trip

It’s that time of year once more. We’ve saved up our time and money, the kids are about to explode with excitement and the call of the open road it tickling your ears. So, we load up our luggage, we cram in the beach toys or camping gear, fill up our bellies and empty our bladders.

One of the biggest headaches in prepping for any vacation tends to be the packing process. By the time you’ve decided exactly what you want to bring you find that you didn’t have as much space as you first thought. In this installment, I’m going to share some packing tips that will not only save you an immense amount of space, but they will also help you get more life out of your garments. These techniques have been tested and proven by Sailors for decades. If we can cram months worth of clothing and uniforms into a small bag and live off of them for months, then using them to get your family on the road for a couple of weeks will be a cinch.

Tee-shirts:

(For plain white tees and printed tees) Lay the tee-shirt face up and flat on your bed or floor. Make sure that you smooth out the wrinkles and get the sleeves flat on your folding surface. Fold the sleeves into the chest of the shirt and crease. Next, take the top of the shirt and fold it all down to the nipple line of the tee. This should be roughly 1/3 of the full shirt. Next, take the portion that you just folded, and fold it down again so that it’s even with the bottom of the tee. It should now be a long narrow slip. Using your right hand, give the center a good karate chop, and fold the left half over the right. Turn it so that the final folded crease faces the bottom. Stow it away with the crease facing you. Stack as needed.

For Printed tees, just do the exact same steps as above, but start with the front of the tee-shirt face down. This way when it’s folded, you can still see the print to know which tee it is.

Shorts, Boxers and Boxer-Briefs:

Lay the shorts face up on your folding surface. Fold the left half over the right half. Line up your edges (We call this ‘dressing your edges’). Fold the bottom half up to the waistline. Stow with the crease facing you.

Tighty-Whiteies and Women’s undies:

Lay them flat on your folding surface. Fold the crotch up to the waistline. Dress the edges. Fold the left half over the right half. Stow in a stack with the crease facing you.

Golf shirts:

Lay the garment flat and face up in front of you. Fold the left sleeve over to meet the right sleeve. Dress your edges. The shirt will be folded in half long-way at this point. Next, fold the sleeves into the chest of the shirt. Then fold the top third of the shirt down to the middle of the garment. Finally, fold the bottom third of the shirt up over the top to be even with the crease. Stow with the creases facing you.  Long sleeve shirts and dress shirts can be folded in the same manner.

Jeans and slacks:

Lay the pants down face up in front of you. Fold the left half over the right half. Dress our edges on the right side. Fold the leg cuffs up to the right side, and dress all edges again. Fold the excess material on the left side in so that the left edge lines up with the legs. Finally, fold the bottom half up to the top seam. Stow with the creases facing you.

Socks:

Start by laying one sock on top of the other so that all edges are dressed off. Next, grab the toe portion of both socks, and hold them up in front of you. Roll the socks from the toe portion down tightly until you reach the open ends. Grab the open end of the outer sock and use it to cover the whole roll. You should be able to turn the sock roll over and see a crease that looks like a smile. Stow smilies up in rows.

Towels:

Lay the towel out flat in front of you long-way. Take the left portion and fold it in a third to the center. Do the same to the right portion. The left and right edges of the towel should now be meeting in the center of the towel. Next, fold the left third over the right, and dress your edges on the right side. You should now have a long slender strip. Fold the top third down toward the center. Fold the bottom third up toward the center. Again, the top and bottom edges of the towel should now be facing each other in the center. Karate chop the center of the towel between the edges, and fold the towel in half. Stow with the crease facing you.

By using these time-tested techniques, you and your family should be able to cut your packing space down by 30-50%, and extend the life of your garments by a year or two. Now, find a copy of ‘Holiday Road’ from the National Lampoon’s Vacation soundtrack, crank up the volume and get to work. You’ve got an adventure awaiting!

P.S.

That is Lindsay Buckingham and Chrissy from Fleetwood Mac on that tune, by the by. Safe travels. Fair winds and following seas, mates!

The Real Equity

A similar question comes up from time to time among writers and authors: when will I see a return on my hard work and labor? I’ll give you the reality and the truth to it because you need and deserve it.

Writing is a lot like investing money. Your words are your ‘monetary investments’.  As any good strategist will advise you if they’re worth their salt, you have to diversify. Put some in short-term growth, and the better chunk of your investments into the stable long-term stuff. The same holds true for your writing.  Let’s assume that you are only seeing a 5-10% return on your books right now.  Maybe you’ve only got three or four works out at the moment which equates into a handful of sales each month. You’re frustrated because you’re looking for quick results from a long-term growth strategy. If you continue to publish quality works over the next five to ten years then you’ll likely see something exciting happen. First off, your catalog of books will have grown to 15 or 20 by then – probably more. You’ll also have built a platform (fan base) which would push your sales from three or four to thirty to forty a month. Readers excited about your new works will start to venture into your back catalog of books which will further boost your returns. Now let’s look at the other side of your investment portfolio.

In order for you to see some immediate returns on your writing, you’re going to have to spend some time in freelance writing, content writing, or both. In doing this, you will not only start to see money roll into your Paypal account on a regular basis, but you will also expand your brand and reader platform. Another alternative is to get into the short story markets. Several of them also pay, but you may be waiting longer than you’d like to see the payoff.

The key to it all is balance, my fellow wordsmiths. Ray Bradbury did it, Stephen King does it – heck just about every writer has to do it in order to make it. As it is with money, you might want to invest 60-70% of your words and time into the long-term returns with lower yields, and the remainder of it into the short-term aggressive markets that will give you immediate payouts.

Watch “Kid’s Action Figure Club” on YouTube

I always encourage entrepreneurship with my kids. That’s what this country’s founded on after all. This is my son’s action figure club channel. Not a bad start for a nine-year-old. Go get em, buddy.

Publicity In A Flash

So, you love to write. Maybe you’ve written some stories or even books, but you’re still struggling to find an audience. I completely understand what you are going through. Writing the story is the easy part. Marketing it is the real beast.

That’s why I’ve created Flash Point Theatre. This is a unique place where you can showcase your writing talents and draw more interested readers back to your sites. Flash fiction is a growing market in our busy culture. Your readers get the experience of a full story in a matter of minutes.  You can use your flash fiction works as calling cards to further increase your brand and fan base. FPT will take your works a step beyond that; we’ll produce them into radio programs, short films and live performances to push your imprint even deeper into the marketplace.

In the time that it takes to eat lunch you could finish a fiction piece and make it work for you. Click on the link in the side bar to find out how to submit your work.

A Little Chat

Interview with Joshua Dyer

Can you give us a brief overview of your latest book? Is it part of a series?

Hunter Cell is a sci-fi thriller that focuses on an elite group of secretive government assassins. It is the first book in a new series.

Do you have a favorite character?

All of the characters are very unique and powerful. My favorite character from this book would have to be Judge. He’s a classic Bogart-style hard-boiled personality.

What is your writing process? Do you listen to music, or do you prefer silence?

I listen to music. I find that it helps me get into character when I write. I’ll buy certain tunes that embody that particular persona and go with it.

Do you outline your story, or do you just go where your muse takes you?

For the most part, I have to outline my work. I only have a limited amount of time to write, so I try to make the most of it when I get it.

What have you learned during your self-publishing journey?

You can only do so much on your own. You have to balance the writing, marketing, sales, artwork, and production of the project. You need an effective team to make it successful.

Click on the link below and go check out the rest of my interview with Deb over at:
http://twoendsofthepen.blogspot.com
.

What A Free Promo Can Do For You

There is a large point of contention in today’s marketing sphere: free promos. Do they work? Are they worth it, or am I just throwing potential sales out the window? I decided to conduct a three-week experiment with my latest book, Hunter Cell, to try to find some answers. It should be noted that I only used the free services that are available on the internet for this promotion.

In the week prior to my five-day KDP promotional period, I had only one sale on Hunter Cell and no ancillary sales in my catalog of other works. I began my free promo on Monday and let it run through the Friday of that same week. I did a google search for free eBook promotional sites, and entered my book in every one that would accept it for the week (i.e. Pixel of Ink, etc.) I woke up to go to work at 4am and checked its numbers prior to leaving for the day. It had already moved 78 copies in just one hour! Imagine my surprise. I tracked Hunter Cell over the course of the next five days, and watched in astonishment as it continued to move copies and expand in different markets. Here are the numbers from my free promo week:

US – 1,815 downloads; high of #1 in steampunk, #4 in sci-fi adventure, #15 in general fiction and #436 in over all free store.

UK – 436 downloads; high of #2 in sci-fi adventure, #4 in mystery/crime and #237 overall.

Germany – 47 downloads; high of #2 in sci-fi adventure, #5 in thriller and #210 overall.

Italy – 2 downloads; high of #2 in sci-fi adventure. It’s amazing what a couple of sales will do.

France – 1 download; high of #3 in sci-fi adventure.

Japan – 2 downloads; high of #3 in sci-fi adventure.

Spain – 1 download.

Canada – 8 downloads; high of #2 in sci-fi adventure.

Brazil – no downloads.

In the week after the promo, I saw the sales of my books surge. Hunter Cell sold 32 copies in the US and 11 in the UK. Ancillary sales on my back catalog also increased. There were also a dozen borrows in both markets afterward.

These figures aren’t exactly staggering in comparison to more popular genres, or more established writers. However, they are real and very respectable figures for a nobody like me. The BLUF (bottom line up front) on this experiment is this: you can get good results without spending a dime. You will have to give something to KDP in order to get something (90 day exclusive), but it’s worth it to get more visibility. Things to consider for your own promo are the following: your book cover, your blurb and the story itself. Make sure that you have all of these elements on point prior to your own launch. The power of the word of mouth was also a great influence. It all starts with your own. When you launch the promo tell people. You don’t have to give anyone the hard sell, but finding ways to work it into conversation with everyone you meet will only help. I even wrote the title down on my bill at a restaurant after dinner. It’s the little things that are often overlooked that just might be the catalyst you need.

Granted, not everyone that downloads your book will get around to reading it. That isn’t exactly the point, though. Of course, you want some of them to read it and hopefully write a review or two. The bigger take from a free promotion is the increased visibility. More people will be made aware of your existence. If you are looking strictly for more reviews, I would suggest that you join reading groups, the Author’s Marketing Club and other great free resources to accomplish this task.

I’ll continue to inform those interested on the book’s progress in the coming months.

Fun Sci-Fi At The Best Price

Free! Hunter Cell will be in a special promotional phase from now through March 22nd on Amazon.com. Please go grab a copy while the getting is good. If you like it then just leave a quick review. Thanks again for your support.

In the near future, the death penalty comes at the hands of a well-oiled killing machine given the legal authority by their government to assassinate US criminals.  The threads of their perfect system are unraveling. Their lives and those of their families are in danger. America’s best hunters are becoming the hunted.

Hunter Cell

If You Liked ‘Blade Runner’…

If you enjoyed the science fiction noir motif of ‘Blade Runner’ then my latest work will be right up your alley:

They are a well-oiled killing machine given the legal authority by their government to assassinate US criminals. The agents’ targets are clueless as to who they are, when they’re coming, or where these assassins will ultimately take their lives. Conspiracy theorists speculate on their existence. The local authorities turn a blind eye to their aftermath. That’s exactly how the Hunter Cell wants it to be.

 

Now the threads of the Cell’s perfect system are unraveling. A simple embezzlement contract in the Pacific Northwest turns into a nationwide manhunt. Faceless vigilantes are interfering with it and other contracts across the board. A segment of the nation’s citizens will no longer stand for the wool being pulled over their eyes. Hunter Cell agents’ identities are being leaked into the mainstream. Now their lives and families are on the line. America’s best hunters are becoming the hunted.

 

Hunter Cell

It has been a long journey to get to this point. Thank you to all of you who provided feedback and inspiration for this work. Its future success is thanks to your efforts.

A Bit On Inspiration

I’ve read it in at least a dozen different places. It has sparked numerous debates on whether or not it even helps a writer out. What I’m talking about here is a little music in the background for inspiration’s sake. I’m from the school of thought that it inspires and motivates the writer. Other writers might argue that it is an unnecessary distraction. I suppose that it comes down to a judgment call for each of us.

For me, I listen to everything and it shines through in my work. When I write children’s stories I like to listen to Debussy, Tchaikovsky, Holst, and John Williams. For fantasy works I enjoy some good Holst, or an album from Two Steps From Hell. For my latest sci-fi/thriller, Hunter Cell (due out very soon), I went with tunes that embodied the scenes and characters. Below is a playlist of music that I used to help shape my characters and the overall story. If it relates to a character I’ve added that persona next to each:

Paper Doll   The Mills’ Brothers

China Girl  David Bowie (Ivy)

Cowboys From Hell   Pantera (Rider, Judge, Sledge)

It’s No Good   Depeche Mode (Ivy)

The Assassin  Iron Maiden (Katana)

Primal Concrete Sledge  Pantera (Sledge)

Galaxia  Gypsie Kings (Sledge, Rider)

More Human Than Human  White Zombie (Steam Punk)

Looks That Kill  Motley Cru (Max)

Night Shift  The Commodores  (Sledge)

Destructo  Two Steps From Hell (Cerberus Group: Jagger, Troy, Dominic and Borg)

Barrel Of A Gun  Depeche Mode (Pat McGarren)

The Last Stand  Two Steps From Hell

I use the cloud player on Amazon for easy transport, but these tunes are available everywhere. What are your thoughts on this subject? Do you view music as a help or hindrance when you’re working on a project?