Community Service Volunteers will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2012. The author recalls his experiences as a volunteer in the early days of the organization, working at a halfway house for ex-prisoners in Rutland and a closed unit for teen offenders in Bristol. Following his volunteer experience, the author worked for a charitable organization at a halfway house for the mentally ill in Kent.

A Hole Without Sides explores what happens when an individual steps off the conventional path, ignores all ‘sensible’ advice and embarks on a voyage of self-discovery. A book for those who believe that they can and should micromanage their futures.

A Hole Without Sides is available in paperback, Kindle, Nook and ePub formats at a number of online websites including Amazon.com (including Amazon UK), Barnesandnoble.com and Goodreads.com.

Murdo Morrison is a writer who lives in southern New Jersey, USA. His previous book, Roses of Winter, an historical novel set in World War 2 Glasgow, Scotland was released in September, 2011.

Listen to Episode 53

or download the episode or subscribe to Podioracket.com’s summer feed.

INTERVIEWS

Murdo Morrison

Roses of Winter

Bio: Murdo Morrison was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1950, spending his early years in a tenement room and kitchen near the shipyards similar to those described in his historical novel, Roses of Winter. His family has many links to the industrial history of Glasgow, particularly related to ships and shipbuilding. Several relatives worked in shipyards or served on ships during and after World War 2. In 1973 he moved to the United States with his wife Susan and lives in southern New Jersey near the city of Philadelphia. The website for his book www.rosesofwinter.com will be live very soon, until then please use his personal website.

Website: http://www.murdomorrison.com

Email: murdom6 (at) comcast.net

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/murdo.morrison

Brain Holtz

Doris & the Ankh (Family Friendly)

Brian Holtz is the author of Handbook for the Criminally Insane, Collapse at Hiddenverse Three-Three-Two, and Nephilim Push.

Brian is one of the editors for the Podioracket Presents anthologies.

Website: http://darksidesally.com/

NEWS

J Daniel Sawyer Releases Train Time

Description: Have you ever seen that well-dressed man at the airport, or the station, who stands patiently by as if he has all the time in the world? Have you wondered who he was waiting for, and how long he’d stay? Have you ever been that man, stuck in the hours between delay and disappointment, with no way to know if the person you’re waiting for will show?…

Get it here.

Shadowmagic by John Lenahan now on sale

The top rated Podiobooks.com novel of all time is on sale for $.99. We highly recommend this one.

http://www.podiobooks.com/charts.php

Get it here.

NEW AND COMPLETE

Now Releasing

Testing the Prisoner by Phil Giunta Horror/Dark Fantasy
Tio Jorge by Vincent Meis Fiction
The World of Unicellular by Oleg Seriy and MaRiCaBo Mystery
Remarkable Incidents and Modern Miracles Through Prayer and Faith by G. C. Bevington Spirituality FAMILY FRIENDLY: Safe for family listening

Now Complete

Doris and the Ankh by Brian Holtz Fantasy FAMILY FRIENDLY: Safe for family listening

Released Complete

The Little Dragons by Rowan Starsmith Fantasy

Best Speculative Fiction Story (Short Form)
Brief Description: Short stories containing elements of science fiction, fantasy or horror
• “The Astonishing Amulet of Amenartas” by Nathan Lowell (from Tales from the Archives)
• “Loyalty” written by Renee Jordan; edited and performed by Arioch Morningstar (from Tuesday Terror)
• “Neighbors” by Eddy Jones, read by Arioch Morningstar (from Tuesday Terror)
• “Saying the Names” by Maggie Clark (from Lightspeed Magazine)
• “The Taste of Starlight” by John R. Fultz (from Lightspeed Magazine)

Best Speculative Fiction Story (Novella Form)
Brief Description: Intermediate length stories containing elements of science fiction, fantasy or horror
• Act of Will by M. Darusha Wehm
• FRANK – Vol.01: Boiling Point by Neil Colquhoun
• The Hidden Institute by Brand Gamblin
• Kissyman & the Gentleman by Scott Sigler
• Marco and the Red Granny by Mur Lafferty

Best Speculative Fiction Story (Long Form)
Brief Description: Novel-length stories containing elements of science fiction, fantasy or horror
• Ancestor (2010 edit) by Scott Sigler
• Owner’s Share by Nathan Lowell
• The Prince of Hazel and Oak by John Lenahan
• Secret World Chronicle by Veronica Giguere
• Valhai by Gillian Andrews

Best Speculative Fiction Audio Drama (Short Form)
Brief Description: Short audio presentations containing elements of science fiction, fantasy or horror
• BrokenSea Doctor Who by Paul Mannering, Mark Kalita, & Stevie K. Farnaby
• The Dixie Stenberg and Brassy Battalion Adventure Theater by Pendant Productions
• “A Place So Foreign” by Cory Doctorow (from Dunesteef)
• The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd by Grant Baciocco & Doug Price
• “This Must Be The Place” by Elliot Bangs (from Dunesteef)

Best Speculative Fiction Audio Drama (Long Form)
Brief Description: Long audio presentations containing elements of science fiction, fantasy or horror
• The Account by Cayenne Chris Conroy (Teknikal Diffikulties)
• Decoder Ring Theatre by Gregg Taylor
• The GearHeart by Alex White
• HG World by Jay Smith (3015 North Studios)
• We’re Alive by Kc Wayland & Shane Salk (Modern Myth Productions)

Best Speculative Fiction Video Story
Brief Description: Video podcasts tell a speculative fiction story
• Grant’s Advent Calendar Video Podcast

Best Speculative Fiction Magazine or Anthology Podcast
Brief Description: Podcasts that regularly present short stories from different authors containing elements of science fiction, fantasy or horror
• Dark Fiction Magazine
• Drabblecast
• The Dunesteef Audio Fiction Magazine
• Escape Pod
• Flash Pulp

Best New Speculative Fiction Podcaster/Team
Brief Description: This person or team is new to podcasting in the past Parsec eligibility year, becoming a significant voice that has contributed to the community as a whole.
• The Ballad of Iron Percy
• Cobalt City Adventures Unlimited
• The Doctor Who Podcast
• Redline Theatre
• Tuesday Terror

Best Speculative Fiction Fan or News Podcast (Specific)
Brief Description: News and commentary podcasts created by and for the fans of a given type of literary or entertainment work or series of works that have elements of speculative fiction (e.g. podcasts focused on H. P. Lovecraft, Buffy The Vampire Slayer or the World of Time).
• The H.P. Lovecraft Literary Podcast
• Pendant Backstage
• PodCulture: TARDIS Interruptus
• This Week in Pendant
• Tuning in to SciFi TV

Best Speculative Fiction Fan or News Podcast (General)
Brief Description: News and commentary podcasts created by and for the fans of speculative fiction. (e.g. Anime, Gaming, General Spec Fic)
• Geek Out With Mainframe
• PodCulture
• Scifi Diner
• StarShipSofa
• WhatTheCast

Best Podcast about Speculative Fiction Content Creation
Brief Description: Podcasts about the creative process and/or the technical aspects of speculative fiction podcast creation.
• Adventures in Scifi Publishing
• Fullcast Podcast
• Get Published
• I Should Be Writing
• Podcast Teardown

Best Fact Behind the Fiction Podcast
Brief Description: Podcasts that explore the facts that influence the fictions – the science, history, culture, and mythology that inspire these stories.
• Astronomy Cast
• Planetary Radio
• Skepticality
• The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe
• Skeptoid

Best Speculative Fiction Comedy/Parody Podcast
Brief Description: Whether they make fun of bad movies or or poke fun at our own geekdom, these podcasts keep us laughing.
• comedy4cast
• Dragon*ConTV
• Geologic Podcast
• Requiem of the Outcast
• Technorama

Best Speculative Fiction Music Podcast
Brief Description: Podcasts discussing and sampling music about, set in, inspired by or spoofing speculative fiction. (e.g. Filk, Rock, RenFair, Rap, Techno)
• The Funny Music Podcast
• The GeekSpin
• Radio Free Hipster
• Renaissance Festival Podcast

Best Youth Driven Speculative Fiction Podcast (Trial Category for 2011)
Brief Description: Podcasts produced and performed by youth
• Aaron’s World
• Princess Scientist’s Book Club

The 2011 Parsec Awards ceremony will be held on September 3rd at DragonCon.

Listen at Horror Addicts and vote for your favorite story by sending an email to horroraddicts@gmail.com by August 1, 2011. Include your snail mail address so you’ve got a chance to be the randomly drawn winning voter. Your address won’t be used unless you win; the Wicked Women writers use it to send you prizes!

Listen to the promo now
Download the promo then subscribe to our feed.

About Wicked Women Writers:

Wicked Women Writers, WWW, is a private Facebook group of female writers. Although ostensibly about producing horror we now discuss all kinds of writing styles and genres. We check in on each other, brainstorm, encourage, share marketing strategy and sometime kick each other under the virtual table. For the last 3 years WWW has held a fan-voted-on writing competition. The winner carries the title of ‘Most Wicked’ for the year (like our own Heather Roulo who was Most Wicked for 2009). The winner receives books and prizes. Last year Rhonda Carpenter’s story, Barring Lilith, brought her the 2010 title. Winning brings her work to the attention of a whole new audience.

Here are all the details:

Well, it is now time to hand that title to the next Wicked. On July 7th the 10 stories from this year went live at Horroraddict.net.

Voting will close August 1st, 2011 at 12:00 pm PST. That gives you a limited time to listen and vote for one of these Wicked Women Writers:

Besides writing a killer story, each entrant had to use 3 things Horror Addicts assigned to them. Not easy combinations. How well did they do? You will decide.

Past Winners:

Until August 1st Rhonda is still the Most Wicked Woman Writer but she will always be WWW2010 like Heather Roulo will always be WWW2009. If you want to know more about Heather Roulo check out her website and you can find out more about Rhonda R Carpenter a her website.

Special Offer:

 By reading this blog, you get the Ebook version of the full novel The Mark of a Druid by entering the coupon code YV24T when you check out at www.smashwords.com. This coupon is good until July 30th, 2011.

The awesome thing about this competition is that all you have to do is listen and vote via email. One lucky voter will win free books, ebooks and schwag from HorrorAddict.net, all 10 of the WWW entrants, and Rhonda Carpenter. It’s like Halloween with Christmas presents.

Listen at www.horroraddicts.net and vote for your favorite by sending an email to horroraddicts@gmail.com . Make sure you include your snail mail address. It won’t be used unless you are the randomly drawn winning voter. If you are, the gals use it to send you prizes!

10 new authors!
10 Free short stories that will scare you silly!
One author wins!
One lucky voter wins too!

Spread the word

How can you help spread the word? Add one of these pic badges to your website, Facebook and Twitter accounts or snag the promo and play it on your podcast. Let the voting begin!

Special note: This year, there will be a corresponding challenge for the Macabre Men. Watch for this first time event!

download the episode or subscribe to our feed.

Interviews

GothHaus by Emerian Rich and M. J. Hahn Audiodrama

Website: http://www.horrroraddicts.net

Website: http://gothhaus.wordpress.com/

Emerian Rich is the author of Night’s Knights and host of the Horror Addicts podcast. M. J. Hahn produced the Parsec award nominated supernatural-fiction audiodrama The Bellefaire Podcast, as well as the current sequel, The Isis Heart Podcast.

Mark Coggins

The Immortal Game by Mark Coggins Thriller

Website – http://www.markcoggins.com

Blog – http://riordansdesk.markcoggins.com

Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/mark.coggins

Mark Coggins’ work has been nominated for the Shamus and the Barry crime fiction awards and selected for best of the year lists compiled by the San Francisco Chronicle, the Detroit Free Press and Amazon.com, among others. He lives in San Francisco with his wife Linda. And is now releasing his 3rd Podiobook.com project Candy from Strangers.

NEWS

Death Match

Death Match is under way. Keith Hughes, a Podioracket Presents- Glimpses author, and Scott Roche have turned the concept of going head to head sideways. No, it is not about how many of their own books they can sell by June 20th, 2011 — its about how many they can sell of each other’s books.

Get it at Amazon or get it on Smashwords. A horror anthology that will keep you up nights.

Giveaway

J.J. Hebert is doing it again! He is giving away: $25 Amazon.com gift card + $25 B&N gift card. Simply LIKE the June 6, 2011 post on the Mindstir Media fan page (http://www.facebook.com/mindstirmedia) and once the page reaches 800 “likes”, one “liker” will win a $25 Amazon.com gift card AND a $25 Barnes & Noble gift card. Spread the word by posting this link to your wall: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=167445713318421&ref=share

Sigler’s Infected

Scott Sigler’s novel INFECTED just went on sale for 99 cents for Kindle and the free Kindle eReaders (eReaders available for iPhone, iPad, Android, Blackberry, Windows Phone, Mac and PC). The 99-cent price is apparently a limited-time thing, so get it while the gettin’ is good: Get it here

Kindle Collection

Christmas Trees and Monkeys by Daniel G. Keohane is a collection of Necon Contemporary Horror and is now available on Kindle for only $2.99. The collection  includes four original stories and a brief introduction to each tale. Plus, 100 percent of all author royalties earned from the sale of this collection are being donated to the New England Multiple Sclerosis Society, in honor of his sister Anne.

NEW AND COMPLETED RELEASES

New Releases

Eternity by Casey S Townsend Science Fiction
Garaaga’s Children – Volume 1 by Paul Elard Cooley Horror/Dark Fantasy
Candy from Strangers by Mark Coggins Thriller

Now Complete

The Faltese Malcom by Peter E. Abresch Mystery
Enemy Lines by John Mierau Science Fiction
Hijacked: The Creation Story by Mike Hartman Fiction

Released Complete

 


Roses of Winter by Murdo Morrison Historical Fiction
Spirit Blade, The Novel by Paeter Frandsen Science Fiction

Listen now

or download the episode.

NEWS

Parsec Award Nominations

Parsec Awards nominations are open. Remember to nominate your favorite podcast in each category at www.parsecawards.com. Nominations close on May 31st at midnight.

Escape Eludes Us a Little Longer

A little bad news from James Melzer. He announced on twitter that the publishers have pushed the release of Escape out until March 2012. We know James would like to get the book out there so we wish him all the best on the new release date.

Free Limited Time Offer

Brian Rathbone’s Call of the Herald is flying off ebook book vendors shelves. Get your free copy soon, it is a limited offer from www.brainrathbone.com and then you will definitely want to get the rest of the trilogy here for only $2.99. 

New from Alex White

Alex White has just started releasing his new steampunk novel set in The Gearheart universe called Maiden Flight of the Avenger. Check out this cover then go get your subscription started here. Better yet, buy it on Amazon for only $2.99.

Wicked Women Writers

Wicked Women Writers stories are in and the next step is audio for the coming competition.  The WWW Forum is growing all the time. It is a great facebook group of female authors who take the time to support and encourage each other as well as a great group to get information from about everything from editing to podcasting. If you would like to join the group just let Rhonda know on Facebook.

Coming Up on Podioracket.com

Althought we’re busy celebrating our 50th episode, we haven’t slowed down. We have already scheduled interviews with Ian Rutter, two GothHaus authors, Darusha Wehm, Mark Coggins, and Verna Clay.  And while we are out for summer hiatus you’ll still get great author interviews from Podioracket.com. Brain Rathbone brings us a series of interviews from a writers conferences. Lots of great information for authors and readers alike. Brain Rathbone hit Balticon, microphone in hand. We’ll be sure to also gave you an update on Podioracket Presents - Glimpses coming soon to Podiobooks.com.  

Interview

Evo Terra

Evo Terra founded Podiobooks.com in 2004, an audiobook service that uses podcasting technology to distribute serialized versions of novels, non-fiction books, anthologies and short story collections. He is the co-author of Podcasting for Dummies and Expert Podcasting Practices for Dummies.

$4.99 a month

Becoming a Podiobooks.com patron is very simple. Click the button and PayPal will ask you to confirm that you want to give us $4.99 right now, and then again in 30 days. Rinse. Repeat. Over 500 titles. Support Podiobooks by becoming a patron.

Wondering why you should donate to Podiobooks.com? What you should donate and when? Hear the answers in this one-on-one interview with Evo Terra.

Now Releasing

GothHaus by Emerian Rich and M. J. Hahn Audiodrama

Queen of Swords: Riding Toward Sunset by D.C. Wood Historical Fiction

Hijacked: The Creation Story by Mike Hartman Fiction

Released Complete

Great Britain at War by Jeffery Farnol History

I Am Adam by James Twerell Magical Realism

Tripping The Light Fantastic by Davy Ferguson Science Fiction

Now Complete

A Moment In Time by Eric (Erk) Brook Fiction

The Immortal Game by Mark Coggins Thriller

Four Dog Riot by Joe Cottonwood Fiction

or download the episode.

INTERVIEWS

Guardians

by A. S. Frye

Bio: I’m 63 years old. I was born and raised in Los Angeles. I have worked on this book off and on for about 20 years.  

Website: www.ufotale.com
Email: asfrye1@gmail.com

The Secrets of the Italian Language 2 – I Segreti della Lingua Italiana per Stranieri 2

Antonio Libertino is a very widely experienced teacher who has also learned English and German. In fact he loves language and cultures, both Italian and foreign, and for this reason he took the prestigious Ditals certificate. Now, he teaches Italian to foreigners and runs his bed and breakfast near Tropea, his beloved home town.

He can be reached at:
Websites: http://www.speakitalianmagically.com or http://www.italianoinitalia.com
Email: info@italianoinitalia.com

NEWS & CONTESTS

Television Show for Personal Effects:Dark Art

Podioracket sends big congratulation to Jordan Weissman and J.C. Hutchins. Personal Effects:Dark Art just may be a new television series. The project is said to be in pre-production. We hope to see it soon. Congrats Jordan and J.C.

Horror Contests

Wicked Women Writers and Masters of Macabre contests have been announced. Join in creating some horror-ful podcast entries. They will air on horroraddicts.net and be voted on by listeners.

Wicked Women Writers link: http://wickedwomenwriters.wordpress.com/ (Update: 17 authors are in this competition. We will keep let our listeners know when the voting begins.)

Masters of Macabre link: http://mastersofmacabre.wordpress.com/ (Update: Taking entrants until April 10th, 2011)

Podioracket Presents-Glimpses is Open for Submissions

Glimpses (Volume Two of Podioracket Presents) is OPEN for submissions. We are accepting submissions from Podiobooks.com authors who wish to have a short story that takes place in (one of) their book’s world included in the Podioracket Presents-Glimpses anthology. Submit text to prp@podioracket.com. See our PRP Submission Guide for information on how to submit. Submission period ends Monday April 4, 2010.

Contest

Basil Sands give away ends March 31st 2011. Buy 65 Below and/or Faithful Warrior and be entered to win a new Kindle WiFi reader! There are lots of ways to win go to his website www.Basilsands.com.

Affilate Offer

Wizzard Media / Libsyn has an offer open for the first 6 months of 2011, if you are interested in working with them to help bring your advertisers to other podcasts please contact feedback@libsyn.com for all the details of this special offer.

NEW & COMPLETE RELEASES

New Release

Hey man, I’ve heard you sold your dreamsby Benjamin G. Dubel Poetry
Coming Together: Out Loud, Volume 1by Nobilis Reed Erotica ADULT: Adult oriented themes, language and situations. Content not suitable for minors.

Now Complete

Wiener Blutby Katharina Maimer Fantasy
The Guild of the Cowry Catchers, Book 2 Flames by Abigail Hilton Fantasy
The Sins of the Fathersby William Tennant Fiction

The Secret World Chronicle, Book Four: World Divided by Mercedes Lackey, Dennis Lee, and Cody Martin, with Larry Dixon and Veronica Giguere Science Fiction
Eugenics and Other Evils by Gilbert Keith Chesterton Essays

Interviews

Your Days are Numbered

Myke Bartlett is a journalist, writer and podcaster. His work has appeared in leading newspapers, on radio, in glossy magazines and atop coffee tables everywhere. In the podosphere, he’s best known for his 2006 novel How to Disappear Completely.

Website: www.mykebartlett.com
Twitter: @mykebartlett
email: kilbeysalmon@gmail.com
Get it at Amazon

Every Photo Tells…

Katharina Maimer is from Vienna, Austria and has been podcasting (3 Heroes, Potterwatch, Luscious Leftovers) since 2007. Her modern fantasy novel, Wiener Blut, is half-way through and will launch on Podiobooks.com on 25th February.

Mick Bordet is from Loch Lomond, Scotland and part of progressive skiffle band The Lunacy Board. His ongoing historical sci-fi novel, Some Other Scotland is also available on Podiobooks.com.
“Every month we present a photograph on the website and follow it up with at least two short stories inspired by it. We may come up with different stories about the main subject or completely unrelated tales about what is happening in the background. The stories are released in the form of a fortnightly podcast available for free download. Guest writers provide additional stories based on the same prompt, increasing the frequency of episodes each month.”

website: www.everyphototells.com
Twitter @EveryPhoto
Email:  info@everyphototells.com

News

Borders Bankruptcy?

Www.bloomberg.com reported on February 2, 2011 that Borders Group Inc., the second- largest U.S. bookstore chain, may be filing for bankruptcy as soon as this week. A bankruptcy could mean that of the 650 retail stores 150 may well have to be closed and new sources of financing created. Borders delayed payments to publishers in January as part of an effort to restructure its financing and avoid a cash shortfall. The link to the article http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-01/borders-said-to-prepare-bankruptcy-filing-as-early-as-next-week.html.

On the brighter side- Winners!

2010 Our History Project Literary Excellence Award winners have been announced and 3 podiobooks.com authors where given awards. Join Podioracket in congratulating:
Best Podcast Novel Gold Award – Shadowmagic
Written and performed by John Lenahan
Best Podcast Novel – Silver Award – Letter from China
Written by Peter James Froning, Read by Barrett Whitener
Best Audiobook Silver Award – Contagious
Written and performed by Scott Sigler

See all the winners here.

A new affiliate program from a new site

MyfreeRead.com is now open and accepting ebooks and articles. Upon acceptance as their affiliate, MyFreeRead.com will:
• Post your work on their website for visitors to read
• Include a link to your own website
• Generate increased awareness of your material, and
• Pay you 70% commission for advertisements or donations generated by your post.

Are you working on your submission?

Glimpses (Volume Two of Podioracket Presents) is OPEN for submissions. We are accepting submissions from Podiobooks.com authors who wish to have a short story that takes place in (one of) their book’s world included in the Podioracket Presents-Glimpses anthology. Submit text to prp@podioracket.com. See our PRP Submission Guide for information on what to submit. Submission period ends Monday April 4, 2011.

Prizes!

Basil Sands new give away should perk you up. Here is how it works. Between January 1st and March 31st 2011 buy the 65 Below and/or Faithful Warrior and be entered to win a new Kindle WiFi reader!
For every thousand initial entries Basil be giving away a brand new Kindle 3 eReader!
There is a separate drawing for each book, so BUY BOTH AND DOUBLE YOUR CHANCES!
No limit on how many he will give away!
(Konrath and others are selling 40,000 plus a month. Put him at that level and he’ll give away forty or more Kindles!)
To enter the contest email a copy of your Amazon, Smashwords or B&N order number to kindle@basilsands.com.
But that’s not all do you want even more entries?
Get up to 10 extra entries per book in the drawing. After the initial entry do the following:
4 extra entries per book: Go to www.basilsands.com and from the comment page send a comment with the answer to these questions:

• 65 Below: “What military organization was Temebe a veteran of?”
• Faithful Warrior: “What was the name of Mike Farris’s sniper school instructor?”

4 extra entries:
Get four extra entries for leaving a review or comment at the purchase pages:
65 Below on Amazon.com and Faithful Warrior on Amazon.com
65 Below on Smashwords.com and Faithful Warrior on Smashwords.com
65 Below on Barnesandnoble.com and Faithful Warrior on Barnesandnoble.com
And three more for leaving a comment at his website Basilsands.com
That makes for up to 11 entries per book, up to 22 Total Entries in the contest to win a free Kindle 3 eReader! What are you waiting for?
And as a special offer for Podiobooks listeners, if you leave a comment on any of his Podiobooks book pages he will put in 5 more entries for them. And if a person states they are a podiobooks listener when they send their purchase number Basil will send them an autographed copy of his book covers as well. Closest thing you can get to a signed ebook. Here are the links to 65 Below on Podiobooks and Faithful Warrior on Podiobooks.

New Releases

The Secret World Chronicle, Book Four: World Divided by Mercedes Lackey, Dennis Lee, and Cody Martin, with Larry Dixon and Veronica Giguere Science Fiction
Trader Tales 6: Owners Share by Nathan Lowell Science Fiction

Released Complete

Triad Death Match by Seth Harwood Fiction


GalaxyBillies by Michell Plested Science Fiction
Sanctification by Beverly Carradine Spirituality

Butterflies Are Free To Fly by Stephen Davis SpiritualityFAMILY FRIENDLY: Safe for family listening
The Dynamic Manager’s Guide To Sales Techniques: How To Create New Prospects And Make More Sales by Dave Donelson Non-Fiction

Now Complete

The Arwen Season 5: Dyson Sphere by Timothy P. Callahan Science Fiction

Red is fierce, most say. It is powerful. It can often be used as a descriptive word that suggests anger, passion, love, strength and even pain. Some suggest that the color red, gives off a warm tone. I personally haven’t seen that. To me, when a woman puts on a pair of red shoes, something in her attitude can change, a certain wave of confidence can enter into the swagger of her step, the bounce of her walk and the way that she speaks can suggest that she has an air of self-esteem going on within herself. If you don’t believe me, try it. Find a pair of high-heel, sleek to the toe— red shoes. After putting them on, what emotions do you get? Now, what I am saying is not coming from some psych text book, more my opinion or rather observation. However, if you decide to try this experiment and get warm tones, I’d like to know it. Seriously.

In the case of my new release, My Father’s Colors-The Drama-Filled Journey of Naya Monà Continues, (due to hit online bookstores like Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com on 03.01.2011) the main character, Naya Monà, wears a pair of red pumps on her journey to find out about the colors of her father and why at the tender age of thirteen, his touch became no longer innocent. Could you imagine her having on a different color shoe as she dives back into that emotional-wrenching box of her past? I can’t.

Then, there’s another character—Misty, that slides into a pair of red stilettos. She takes on more of the fierce, powerful and “I am all woman” approach to wearing her shoes. I like her, that part of her personality that is. When writing her character, I certainly wasn’t seeing any warm tones. I’m just saying.

I reference colors in my books a lot, not just with shoes. A crayon box of colors to be exact. Why? As women, we are all made up of many colors. I am not referring to the colors of our skin—but rather, the journey that life takes us on. Every attitude, emotion, laugh, smile or tear, colors us in some way. We can either determine the colors in our box or allow someone else to color us. Men, have a box full of colors too. I don’t care what they say.

On February 20, 2011 to celebrate the launch of my new book, I will be hosting a “Get Your Red Shoes On” event at the Marriott in Atlanta, Georgia. About 40-50 women will come through the doors of the hotel with one thing in common, a fabulous pair of red shoes on. It will be a night filled with fun, food (a 3-course seated dinner) and live entertainment by Jason Pure. He is a smooth vocalist in the R&B category that will engage us in his soulful lyrics. Advanced tickets can be purchased and run about $38.50-40. Tickets include a signed copy of my book. I expect the night to be just as fabulous as my shoes. Did I mention that my shoes are fabulous?

On a more serious note, as many are aware, February is also Black History month. The NCTE will be sponsoring the 2011 National African American Read-In. According to the NCTE website, the goal of the Read-In is to make the celebration of African American literacy a traditional part of Black History Month activities.

“Schools, churches, libraries, bookstores, community and professional organizations, and interested citizens are urged to make literacy a significant part of Black History Month by hosting and coordinating Read-Ins in their communities. Hosting a Read-In can be as simple as bringing together friends to share a book, or as elaborate as arranging public readings and media presentations that feature professional African American writers.
To be counted as participants, simply:
• Select books authored by African Americans;
• Hold your event during the month of February; and
• Report your results by submitting the 2011 African American Read-In Report Card.”

I look forward to submitting my 2011 African American Read-In Report Card on February 20, 2011.

To learn more about participating in the 2011 National African American Read-In, please visit: http://www.ncte.org/action/aari/packetinfo

Please visit Marian L. Thomas, the author of Best-Selling book, Color Me Jazzmyne and the soon to be release, My Father’s Colors on the web at http://www.marianlthomas.com/ for more information on the “Get Your Red Shoes On” event, upcoming book signings, author speaking events and more! Or Click here to get it from Amazon.com Color Me Jazzmyne

Fear not. It’s a general problem and they’re working on the solution.

On Monday, January 17th Evo Terra sent a note to Podiobooks.com authors that said:

Gang,

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but we’ve totally — and
completely — maxed out our current dedicated webserver. We tried a
hard-drive swap on Sunday, but it didn’t do squat. Further analysis
showed that we’re very, very underpowered for the traffic we’ve been
receiving recently.

So we’re upgrading. We’re getting something stupid like 8x the CPU
power and 4x the RAM on the box. We’re now into some very serious
hardware and hopefully will eliminate the recent issues.

Costs, by the way, have doubled. At this time I have NO PLANS to
change the author compensation structure. Authors will still receive
75% of the donations we receive for their books. My hope is that we’ll
get some additional donations from listeners. We haven’t had any
serious lift there in the last couple of years. I aim to change that.
I may not be successful, but that is my plan.

So thanks for your patience. The new box is schedule to be in place by
Friday. Yes, that’s a very long time to be down. Sorry about that. It
really can’t be helped.

E.

Reassured? Good.

For more updates check out http://community.podiobooks.com/.

And if you’re one of Nathan Lowell’s caffeine-starved fans, like my husband, you can access his feed at http://solarclipper.com/. I understand that Owner’s Share may have been the traffic-straw that broke Podiobooks’s back.