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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Tips for chipping in

The Skull Ring broke the 1,000 barrier so Uncle Scottie will be giving away faaahbulous prizes! Thanks much. If it does really well, say, cracks the Top 300, I've got more junk--er, esoteric rarities--to put on the pile. We're playing all week so I appreciate anything you can do to nudge it along. It tickles me to death that wonderful people like you can do what a major NY publisher's advertising budget can't guarantee. It's hard for me to show it without my grinning face (above), but I am incredibly humbled and grateful that you choose to put some of your positive energy behind me--it feels like wind beneath my wings.

Here's some more tips that help make a book more visible--if you hang out on Amazon, any of the communities are great places for conversation--if you like stories, books, movies, etc., you will find kindred spirits. If my book seems appropriate, you can click "insert product link" and type "skull ring kindle" and it will show the book, click, and it pastes the link right in the comment. Or simply copy and paste [[ASIN:B003980ELA The Skull Ring]]

You can also create "Mania Lists" and "So You'd Like To..." at Amazon. I always have fun with these, like "Ten scary thrillers" as recommended by "an aspiring writer" or "a lazy hack" or a "sleep-deprived maniac." Put in some of your favorite books. If mine is one, so be it!

One simple thing is to tag the book--on the Amazon product page, http://www.amazon.com/The-Skull-Ring-ebook/dp/B003980ELA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267495552&sr=8-1, add or click on tags such as "thriller," "suspense," "mystery," "romantic suspense," "indie author," "psychological thriller," etc. The important thing is to be genuine. Only do what you feel good about and are comfortable with.

Write a review if you feel like it. The number of reviews is actually more significant than the "star ranking." Better to have a three-star average with 200 reviews than a five-star average with five reviews. That means people are taking the book seriously. Reviews take a few days to post so they don't add that "instant impact," but they can help people make a decision to try the book. Again, be genuine. If you think it's a three-star book, put three stars. If you think it's a one-star book...go pick on James Patterson!

It's also up at Smashwords in other ebook formats, http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/9523.

Old-fashioned word of mouth is still the best promotion. If you have a friend you think would like the book, please let her know (I know, not everybody has a Kindle or Nook yet, but the paper version should be available in a couple of weeks.)

Again, thanks so much. The best is yet to come.
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