Fiction Scribe

AS if! needs your help!

The Australian speculative fiction review site needs your help. AS if is a massive review site that relies on volunteer reviewers - of which Food Past’s Gillian is part of - to provide reviews on the site.

Why donate?

Donations to paypal will go towards covering postage for review copies to be sent out to reviewers. They would also like to recruit more overseas reviewers, who sit totally outside the community, to increase commentary. However, this would significantly increase the project costs.

Donations will also cover reviewers stalking second-hand bookshops and bookstalls and buying out of print Australian specfic for coverage on ASif! They could also look into buying copies of works of the bigger name writers whose publicists still don’t send review copies. Or, if you’re a big name writer and not currently reviewed on the site, perhaps you might consider sending them a copy of your work for review.

Also, another reason to donate is you can win some fabulous prizes! For every $5 donation to the drive, you will get your name into the ASif! Donation Drive Prize Raffle. So if you give $15, you have 3 chances to win.

Here’s a peek at just some of the things you can win:

1 copy of In Bad Dreams
2 copies of C0ck
1 copy of Aggressive Retail Therapy by Grant Watson (out of print Angriest Video Store Clerk in the World trade paperback)
2 copies of the Issue 1 of Henry & Gil vs the Infinity Engine by Grant Watson and Edward J. Grug III
2 copies of Polyphony 6
2 copies of Twenty-Six Lies/One Truth by Ben Peek
2 copies of Swans Over the Moon by Forrest Aguirre
6 copies of Fables and Reflections
1 copy of Daikaiju 3
2 copies of Bad Case of Loving You by Laney Cairo
5 copies of Shiny Issue 1
5 copies of New Ceres Issue 2
1 copy of Potato Monkey Issue 5 (the final issue!!)
1 signed copy of Seacastle by Tansy Rayner Roberts
1 copy of Winterbirth by Brian Ruckley
1 copy of Celtika, Book 1 of the Merlin Codex by Robert Holdstock
1 copy of The Iron Grail, Book 2 of the Merlin Codex by Robert Holdstock

If you are interested in donating a prize, please contact girlie dot jones @ gmail dot com

If you are a writer and interested/willing to participate in a short story writing stunt (you don’t have to write a whole short story) - soon to be announced - please also email girlie dot jones @ gmail dot com

The December Donation Drive has kicked off and all donations received from now till Dec 24th will be eligible for the prize draw.

To make a donation, go here.

If you aren’t all that fussed about the book giveaway, maybe comic books are your thing?

Jessica of Comic Book Journal is offering up an awesome prize and all you have to do is a little creative letter writing.

Check out this post for more details and get in on your chance to win.

I’m not feeling particularly snarky or pissed off today (no matter what Mr. Scribe says) so I’m going to skip the pet peeve today. It it’s place, I am going to put up some things I think need pointing out.

First…

Who doesn’t love free stuff? Especially books… Drool. Susan from West of Mars is spreading the love – the Hanukah love, that is – today by offering up her copy of Auralia’s Colors by Jeffrey Overstreet.

Go here for a synopsis and reviews.

If you would like to get in on this free book goodness/madness, all you have to do is go to this post on Susan’s blog and leave a comment. On December 11th, she’ll draw a comment at random to determine the winner.

I’ve already commented, so get in there for your chance to win as well.

Hello everyone, and welcome to another wonderful Monday. The day is a little chilly and cloudy here in Australia, but that just means I get to curl up with my favorite hot drink and get my writing done for this week’s writing challenge. I have a few announcements to make about things coming up, so here we go…

The Scribes carnival deadline has been extended due to me being away on the first of October. The new deadline is October 4th, and the carnival will be posted up on the 8th. I already have some lovely entries, so go here for details and how to submit to the carnival.

The Fiction Scribe newsletter will be going out a little early, not on the first of October. If you have any work you would like to be featured in the newsletter (with links to your site(s)), be sure to get it to me as soon as you can so it can be included.

Remember, for the month of September, you can have the chance to win books! Go here for details on how you can win.

I’m holding discussions of the book Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. If you’re interested in joining the discussions, feel free to jump in any time.

200 Words is still going. Send me the first 200 words of whatever you’re working on and I’ll post it up with a short critique. I don’t bite too hard.

I’m still accepting creative spaces submissions. Even if you can’t send a picture along with it, send in a detailed description of your writing space (shorter if accompanied by a picture/pictures) and I’ll post it up on the site.

Write Anyway is a site with all sorts of prompts to help inspire your writing. Each week features a different theme. This week’s theme is something we can all talk about - food! Join in the fun. Responses put on blogs/sites are linked to.

Pump Up Your Book Promotion has broken a record. They have NINE talented and gifted authors going out on tour in September. To celebrate, they’re doing something special for their readers!

All our authors on tour will be giving away copies of their books and bookmarks to readers chosen at random. How do they decide who wins?

Anyone who leaves comments at their stops which are located on each individual author’s tour pages gets a shot. If you don’t want to miss out on your chance to win free books, visit all the stops and leave comments because you won’t know which one will be the lucky stop.

All winners will be announced on this blog on September 31, so be sure to check back at the end of the month. If you see your name on the list, all you have to do is email thewriterslife(at)yahoo.com and leave your physical mailing address. All there is to it! So, without further ado…here are the wonderful and talented authors going out on virtual book tour for the month of September!

September authors on virtual tour are in alphabetical order:

Dwayne G. Anderson, author of PARTIALLY HUMAN. I have loved Dwayne from the get go. Just under twenty-four-years-old, Dwayne has authored three books with PARTIALLY HUMAN being his third. If you’d like to read up on this delightful young and talented author, visit his tour page here.

This is Barbara Becker Holstein’s second month of tours for her book THE TRUTH: I’M TEN, I’M SMART AND I KNOW EVERYTHING. I’ve read this book myself and I thoroughly enjoyed it. If you’d like to find out more about her book and to find out which stops she’ll be stopping off at, visit here.

Nikki Leigh joins us this month on her first virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book Promotion for her book, LADY LIGHTKEEPER. If you’re a fan of the Outer Banks of North Carolina, you will throughly love her book. If you’d like to follow her tour to have a chance to win one of her books, click here. (Note from author: Each person who decides to buy a copy of Lady Lightkeeper, needs to email me a copy of their receipt. I just need a receipt that shows you bought a copy of Lady Lightkeeper and I’ll enter you in the drawing for a copy of Widow’s Walk. That seemed like a good giveaway since the story starts with Widow’s Walk. However, if the winner already has a copy of Widow’s Walk, I’ll be happy to send a copy of Lilah and the Locket instead.)

This is CJ Maxx’s second visit with us at Pump Up Your Book Promotion, but this time it’s for another erotic romance novel titled COMING BACK A VIRGIN. A must read! You can find out where he’ll be virtually touring at his tour page by clicking here.

Nick Oliva joins us for the first time at Pump Up Your Book Promotion for his book, ONLY MOMENTS. If out of body experiences and time travel are just what the doctor ordered, you will love his books. Follow along on his tour by clicking here.

Stem cell activist and author Yvonne Perry joins us for the first time for her book, RIGHT TO RECOVER, an interesting, yet controversial, look at stem cell research. If you would like a chance to win one of her books, visit her tour page by clicking here.

Caridad Pineiro, named Golden Apple Author of the Year by Romance Writers of America, and who visited us in May is back with a new book, SOUTH BEACH CHICAS CATCH THEIR MAN. If women’s fiction/chick lit is up your alley, visit Caridad’s stops so you can have a chance at winning one of her books Click here to find out where she’ll be touring.

Our friend from England, Hazel Statham is trying out the virtual book tour waters with her historical fiction book, DOMINIC. Hazel has always been fascinated by history and writes mainly in the Regency and Georgian eras. DOMINIC is a book you will LOVE. If you would like to try for a chance to win one of her books, visit her tour page here to see where she’ll be virtually touring.

Scott Zema is our resident expert on anything in the appraisal business - whether it be for art, antiques or collectibles - is touring for the first time with Pump Up Your Book Promotion with his book, THREE STEPS TO INVESTMENT SUCCESS: BUYING THE RIGHT ART, ANTIQUES, AND COLLECTIBLES. Find out what he has to say about the business by visiting his tour page here and get in the running for a copy of one of his books!

Best of luck to everyone.

How would you like $500 for writing one line?

Well, here is your chance.

At That First Line, the Spring/Summer contest deadline is fast approaching! Submit your fantastic one line tomorrow for your chance to win $500.

Best of luck!

If I had $300 dollars I would buy________.

What would you buy with $300? Or even $200 or $100? Now is your chance to find out! Comment on any 451 Press site during the month of August and you could win! Three comments will be chosen at random to win a cash prize of $300, $200 or $100. The more you comment the more chances you have to win. So start reading and let those fingers fly.

How would you like $500 for writing one line?

Well, here is your chance.

At That First Line, the Spring/Summer contest deadline is fast approaching! Submit your fantastic one line before September 1st for your chance to win $500.

Best of luck!

Chapter Three of Cheryl Kaye Tardif’s terrifying thriller The River

“Cheryl Kaye Tardif has once again captivated readers in her third novel and latest suspense thriller, The River. Set in the wilds of Canada ’s north, The River combines intrigue, science, love and adventure and is sure to keep readers clamoring for more.â€? ― Edmonton Sun

Read Chapter 1 first, then Chapter 2, then return here…

The River
©2005 Cheryl Kaye Tardif

three

It had been years since she had set foot inside Bio-Tec Canada, the company her father had worked for. The company that was mentioned in Schroeder’s journal. Not much had changed. Even Annette Taylor was still there.

The receptionist’s eyes widened as Del approached.

“Delila, what a surprise. What are you doing here?�

“I’m not really sure, Annette. Who’s in charge now?�

“Edward Moran.�

Moran had been one of her father’s associates, a man with a hard edge and a way of looking at her that made her cringe. She had always avoided him whenever her father had invited her to social events.

“Do you want me to buzz him for you, Delila?�

“I guess so. To be honest, I’m not even sure why I’m here.�

She was starting to sweat and her legs were beginning to shake.

Damn! Not now!

(more…)

If I had $300 dollars I would buy________.

What would you buy with $300? Or even $200 or $100? Now is your chance to find out! Comment on any 451 Press site during the month of August and you could win! Three comments will be chosen at random to win a cash prize of $300, $200 or $100. The more you comment the more chances you have to win. So start reading and let those fingers fly.

How would you like $500 for writing one line?

Well, here is your chance.

At That First Line, the Spring/Summer contest deadline is fast approaching! Submit your fantastic one line before September 1st for your chance to win $500.

Best of luck!

After going through a lot of fantastic entries, I picked the one that kept me coming back for more reads and got me smiling every time I read it.

Congratulations to Jennifer Shirk for her pet peeve post on bad editing! She will receive a $25 amazon.com gift certificate along with her post as Fiction Scribe’s Pet Peeve #32.

Thank you to everyone who participated.

Bad editing:

I picked up a book a few months ago that sounded cute. I started reading it and had formed a mental picture of what the heroine looked like.

You with me so far? Good. Because then something happened.

She changed hair color.

Yes. She changed hair color about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way through the book. And I don’t mean “she went to the beauty salon for a new look� changed hair color.

No. All of a sudden she was a blonde. Poof. Just like that.

So I had to go back to the first chapter and double check my mistake. Surely I must have just thought she was a brunette. But no. There it was. The hero thinking to himself what a pretty brunette she was.

Ah-ha! So it wasn’t me. Someone had made a booboo.

Grrr.

Today is your last day to enter the Pet Peeve contest and win a $25 amazon.com gift certificate!

Submit your entries by 11.59pm tonight.

If I had $300 dollars I would buy________.

What would you buy with $300? Or even $200 or $100? Now is your chance to find out! Comment on any 451 Press site during the month of August and you could win! Three comments will be chosen at random to win a cash prize of $300, $200 or $100. The more you comment the more chances you have to win. So start reading and let those fingers fly.

I’m in a good mood for a few reasons:

My birthday lands on a Friday.
We’re going out for Greek to celebrate at a place where they do the Greek dancing and plate smashing.
I’ve had a lot of excellent entries to the Pet Peeves contest so far.

Thus, I am changing something.

If you win the contest, you will win a $25 amazon.com gift certificate, not a $20 one.

Yes, I know you’re all very excited.

I’m also giving you a little more time. You have until Saturday August 11th 11.59pm to turn in your entries.

Hint: Pet Peeve post style entries are the ones I’m liking best so far. Don’t just tell me your pet peeve, be passionate!

Good luck to all and keep all these fabulous entries coming in. Go here if you need to brush up on the rules that I haven’t changed.