The Beat On The Street and Win A Copy of Mindjacker

Going to be giving away a free print copy of Mindjacker, and will ship to wherever the winner calls home. All you need to do is check my blog on Friday March 18th, at 12:00 PM EST. All the characters in the novel were inspired by some famous person or another. So, I'll post a short excerpt, provide a clue, and the first person to guess the real life  person wins a copy, or at least something to stoke the fireplace with.

In other, far more interesting news...

-Chris Allinotte's Madness in March has been a real treat so far. R.S Bohn, Richard Godwin, and Angel Zapata have been featured so far. As the Nerd of Noir might say...Dig this shit HERE

-Speaking of Ms. Bohn, she's this weeks judge for Lili Childs Friday Prediction. Enter your best hundred words HERE

- Any time someone can expose "reality" tv for the mindless scourge that it is, I'm interested. Benjamin Sobieck is doing just that at the Flash Fiction Offensive HERE

- Col Bury is giving a rave review to Andy Rivers novel Maxwells Silver Hammer. I am so all over this, if I can get it from amazon UK. Details HERE

-If you've authored a novel or collection and are looking for some exposure by way of an interview at a pretty cool, up and coming site, stop on over to this thread on the Absolute Write site. Complete details HERE. I took them up on the offer and the first round of questions hey sent me are really impressive.

Mindjacker is #1 Bestseller on Smashwords

Last week I advertised a promotion on variuos discussion forums, including Nookboards, KindleBoards, eBook Gab, and Absolute Write, where you could download the ebook version of "Mindjacker" for free from Smashwords using a coupon code. The promotion ended last night and when I checked this morning it was # 3 on the bestselller list. This morning, I extended the free down load offer to December 12th and it has moved to # 1.

Like most serious, realistic writers, I am not in this for the money, just a "love of the game" and establishing a readership. If anyone would like to take advatage of the offer:

Here is the link http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/17083?ref=athenagwis and be sure to enter the NEW coupon code ZX83E to download for free.

A few Writing Tips I'd Like To Pass On

I am going to try, once a week, to pass on some of the information I have learned since I got into this writing gig. So today here are some useful resources that were recommended to me, and are pretty common to all writers.

1) Read Stephen King's "On writing"- There are lot's of so-called experts willing to provide advice, but I and thousands or writer's seem to agree that this is a must read.

2) Join a writer's discussion forum- There are many, but Absolute Write & Writer's Digest seem to be the sites that most writer's use. You can follow along "anonymously" and learn, or you can join and participate when ready.

3) Read, Read, Read, especially the genre you want to write in.

4) Most authors have blogs. If you have a favorite author, check out and follow their blog.

5) Take a peek at Elmore Leonards "10 Rules of Writing" It is online and again, it is hard to find a writer who has not read and endorsed these.

That's it for today. Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check back next week as I'll be having a little contest where you can win a free print version of "Mindjacker".