HC Books round-up

Debra Hamel has reviewed The Skull Ring for Midwest Book Review/Book Blog. We're in the final stages of prepping Stephen James Price's collection PAGES OF PROMISES and John O'Dowd is finishing up revisions on a new Mahko thriller. June 24th is the official release date of the Grave Conditions trade paperback (preorders available). Printed Page has a Drummer Boy review.

The Red Church is two Amazon reviews away from that magical 20, which will help it show up in more recommendations slots. If you're inspired to chip in your two bits, please drop a sentence or two.

We're also working on the DIRT trade paperback, which should be out in early July. Scott and Stephen have contributed stories to Ghostwriter Publications' promo collection THE OUTSIDERS, available free at Smashwords soon or for a pittance as ebook on Amazon. A busy season, thanks to all who fight for liberty, justice, and truth!

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Get in between Keene, Konrath, Maberry, and Susco

Want to be seen with the best horror/thriller writers in the business? Grave Conditions is a three-issue digital comics set that will be collected into a trade paperback. Brian Keene, J.A. Konrath, Jonathan Maberry, "Grudge" writer Stephen Susco, "Impaler" creator William Harms, the Digger, and more are represented in the 96-page collection, featuring black-and-white art and adapted stories in the tradition of "Tales From the Crypt," "Creepy," and "Eerie."

We're selling quarter-page ads for $25 or half-page ads for $40. Get your work or service out to the true fans of the genre and reach the audiences of some of the biggest names in horror through this groundbreaking cooperative project. Ad deadline is June 1, with books shipping in June. With digital and print-on-demand, these books will never go out of print, so your ad stays alive long after the thrill of living is gone! We'll also consider ad swaps with similar projects. Contact Scott at hauntedcomputerbooks@yahoo.com or learn more about the project at Haunted Computer.

Linville Caverns, the "Drummer Boy" setting

Linville Caverns wends through the Blue Ridge Mountains of McDowell County, miles and miles of narrow, colorful crevices. There's an underground stream with blind fish, bottomless drops, and the glistening, humid stones of the world's oldest mountain chain.

It's also the inspiration for my new novel Drummer Boy. During the Civil War, deserters from both sides fled to the remote mountains, where a self-reliant populace was reluctant to choose sides, distrusting both governments. According to legend, you can still hear the tools and mess kits clinking in the murky depths, referred to locally as "The Jangling Hole." Above, I'm sitting by the spot of a natural campfire area in the caves. Below, you can see the Jangling Hole in all its vulvic, alien splendor. Please join the Drummer Boy flash mob by clicking on its Amazon Web page at 3 pm EST on May 11.

Drummer Boy flash mob

So I was thinking of kooky ideas to draw attention to my new novel Drummer Boy without spending money I don't have...

Since Amazon's rankings can change hourly, I'm hosting a "Flash Mob," based on the popular phenomenon of a bunch of strangers randomly agreeing to meet at a specific time and place. So I am flash mobbing Drummer Boy on Amazon at 3 p.m. EST on May 11. Right now, the fun is in the experiment, but I am giving away the bonus zombie story "Dead Ink" or the autobiographical "Dead Cats and Rain" to people who buy the kindle ebook during that hour. Even if you don't buy a copy (or use the free "kindle for PC" download), simply clicking on the book should send it on a viral path to more recommendation slots. If inspired, please blog, Tweet, and Facebook it--the link is http://www.amazon.com/Drummer-Boy-ebook/dp/B003F77EP4


Based on observation and guesswork, I think a small handful of sales in a single hour can really push a book up the charts and compete with bestselling novels. Sure, it won't last long, but Drummer Boy will reach more readers through the extra exposure.

At any rate, it's crazy, it's mod, and it's basically a free experiment in mass psychology (unless you choose to shell out the $1.99 for the ebook version). I'll be live-blogging the event from hauntedcomputer.blogspot.com, which mirrors on my Amazon author page at Author Central. If you want a banner, drop me an email at hauntedcomputer AT yahoo.com. I'll also be filing follow-up reports so other authors can learn about the social-media experiment. Hope you will join and see how it works out.

Scott

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