Tuesday, April 9, 2013

WHAT'S AN AUTHOR TO DO? ...


A man with blood-shot eyes keys in, “The End,” on his six-year-old laptop. He rumples his dark hair, and a drawn-out sigh escapes from his parched lips. Craning his neck, he glances over the screen at the wall clock centered between two bookcases crammed with books, stacks of files, dozens of pens, pencils, markers, and what have yous, stuffed into a variety of metal cylinders. Hmmm. 3:00 am.  
Bare footed, he pads into the kitchen. The fridge light irritates his eyes as he grabs a bottled water. He nearly spits out his last gulp, shaken from the high-pitched sound of the phone ringing. “Who’d call at this hour?, he grumbles. His heart pounds against his loose t-shirt, as endless scenarios of bloodied bodies and death race through his head.
He snaps up the phone. “Who’s dead?” he asks.
“What? Nobody’s dead. It’s me, Alan.”
“Alan,” he roars. “Why the hell are you calling me at this hour?” A snigger on the other end only inflames him more.
“I couldn’t wait till later ...I needed to know. Did you finish it?”
“Just be lucky you aren’t within strangling distance.” He slammed the empty water bottle onto the counter. “Yes, Dammit. I finished. No thanks to you. The suggestions you made for the ending sucked. What a waste of cyberspace.”
Alan sniggered again. 
“What the hell’s so funny?”
“You are, Jason. My little plan worked. You got so pissed at me that it forced you to write the ending you were meant to write.”
“You know what, Alan, you’re one sick puppy.” The tension drains from Jason, as the absurdity of the situation turns into comprehension . “Is that all? Or, are you going to pull another gag? I’m beat.”
“Just one more thing. I know you haven’t a clue of what your next move is with your book. I just downloaded something every writer needs.”
“Yeah, and what’s that? I don’t have all night.”
“How To PUBLISH and PROMOTE Your Book NOW! By. L. Diane Wolfe. This chic’s really got it together. She knows all the ins and outs of traditional AND self-publishing. As a peace offering, I gifted it to you. Check your inbox.”
“Fine.” Jason draws a deep breath and lets it out slowly. “Alan.”
“Yup.”
“Thanks. I still want to strangle you ...  but you heart’s where it needs to be.”
“I aim to please. Now get some sleep, you grouch.” 


Publishing and Promoting made simple! 

If your aspirations lean toward publishing and you don’t know where to begin ... 

L. Diane Wolfe’s, HOW TO PUBLISH AND PROMOTE YOUR BOOK NOW!, is the best place to start. 
AmazonLink 
Amazon Kindle: Link
Nook: Link
Powell's: Link

Well ... How many of you want a copy of this book? Raise your hands. Geez... I can’t see an end to the waves of hands moving about.


I hope you all enjoyed my fun scene. WE'VE all been there with the stress of final edits. But now we finally can take a strong hold on our careers with this amazing book to guide us. Thank you L. Diane. Please stop by her blog http://circleoffriendsbooks.blogspot.com/ and say hi and thanks ... As soon as this challenge is over I will be getting my copy. But first I really do need to finish those final edits. LOL.

Have a great day everyone!


26 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Very creative! Glad no one ever motivated me like that.
Diane's book is great! Lots of tips.

Natalie Aguirre said...

Great intro to Diane's book. Sounds like a great book we all need to read too.

Angela Brown said...

Another outstanding intro. Definitely adds to the desire to check out this How-to book :-)

DRC said...

I just wish I had the energy to pull an all-nighter in writing like that. It's been so long since I have. Come 11.30 I can't concentrate on anything but my pillow. If I didn't have to hold down a full time job maybe things would be different. Who knows.

Great Intro. Will have to be nosy now :)

Unknown said...

That's great! I had no idea that's where you were going with this one!

Elizabeth Seckman said...

It's still on my to-read list. I really need to learn to read faster!!

cleemckenzie said...

Nicely and cleverly done, this! As it happens someone called me at 5AM this morning, so I related to that author on more than one level today.

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

I'm so lucky. I already have a copy and it is wonderful.

Suzanne Furness said...

This sounds like one book we should all have a copy of!

Tyrean Martinson said...

Love the introduction scene!!! And Yes, I've felt like that . . .
And I'm thankful for Diane's book!

Carol Kilgore said...

Oh, that's so cool! My Amazon list is HUGE, and Diane's book is on it. Getting hers in paper.

Michael Offutt, Phantom Reader said...

Huzzah for Diane! Great plug Michael!

Roland D. Yeomans said...

What a great intro, and I know how hard you worked on it, too. It was worth all the effort. Great success for Diane! :-)

Michelle Wallace said...

Another winning intro delivered in true and special style, as only you know how...

Writer In Transit

Susan Oloier said...

That was so incredibly creative, Michael. Now it's time to put Diane's book on my TBR list. I was completely unaware of it until your post today.
Cyber hugs to you!

Cherie Reich said...

Love it! And Diane's book looks so informative. :)

A to Z Participant
Cherie Reich - Author and Surrounded by Books Reviews

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Michael, that was delightful! Thank you so much. I have a little surprise for you at my blog, too. Total coincidence they are on the same day.

Al Diaz said...

You aim to please too! And you do achieve it. Well done. :)

Laura Eno said...

Awesome intro to Diane's book, Michael! And it's a great book too. :)

VR Barkowski said...

Loved it, but just so everyone knows: I do not want to see this played out in real life. Especially with me in the Jason role.

Oh, and I have Diane's book. It is Awesome!

~VR Barkowski

Rebecca Green Gasper said...

Love the intro! :) Will have to check out this book.

Hey- thanks for all your wonderful comments on Susan's blog today! :) You're the best- thanks for all your support and encouragement. Cheers to you! :)

Mark Means said...

You keep hitting them out of the park, Michael....well done! :)

Ella said...

Nicely done Michael!
Yes, we all need this book ;D

Unknown said...

I agree with Ella completely. We all need to get this book ASAP. I love Jason and Alan, perhaps you should give them their own full story one day. :)

Charmaine Clancy said...

I've got this book! Looking forward to having time to sit down and read it :)

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Michael .. Loved the way you turned this into a story .. and yes Diane's book is sitting on my shelf for me to read ... I'm certain it has hugely valuable information in it, and useful reminders and tips ..

Great you've promoted it this way .. cheers Hilary