Mail Call! Here are some answers to recent emails concerning this Blog.

I think I need to make it clear what this Blog is all about. Clarity is always good. I received lots of email asking various questions about my Blog. It would take a month of Sundays to answer all of them, so here is a list of answers. Hopefully you will find the answer you are looking for. If not email me at csylcox@charter.net

 

1. I Plug books. Plugging books means – I present to those following my Blog, those on my Facebook Authors Page, and followers on Twitter with a book exposure. I look all over the web, but mainly of FB book sites, for Independent publications. I’m an Indie. I know how hard it is to market. So, I do this for free to give the Independent Author exposure. I also benefit from my book exposure and hopefully generate some sales from it.

2. Payment is never required. I do not charge anything for this service. I do it for free.

3. I do reviews occasionally. I do not do, review for review …that stuff is crap.

4. Do I read the books I plug? Some I have. Most are sitting in my, To Read Stack. I plug six books a day on average. I also work full-time, I‘m married, and have other interest…like my writing . I do read over each to get a feel for the story. I copy and paste from the sales sight of the book and the only thing I produce is a title for the post.

5. Genre? Sci-Fi, Horror, Crime Drama, Detective, Mystery. I also plug kids books, cook books, and many others. I will not plug erotica or gore. It is just my feeling on Erotica, anyone can produce a hot and steamy sex scene but very few can make it sensual, loving, and full of passion. Most erotica is cheap lustful words thrown together causing some poor slob to masturbate. I’m not in Junior High any more. I want romance filled with sensual words, phrases, and longing. Gore, pretty much falls into the same class. Anyone can produce a bloody scene. But few can make it feel and seem real. When they do, it is no longer called gore or porn, but it is called writing.

6. Contact info…you can send me email csylcox@charter.net, also Facebook, my blog of course, Linkedin, Twitter…I’m not hard to find. In fact I look forward to hearing from you.

7. Yes, I do take submissions through email and messages on FB.

8. Featured Authors of the week, I choose and I alone. As of now the waiting list extends through August of 2015. I will and can make special exceptions. It depends on the Author and his/her achievements. If I’m told of an author who comes close to Russell Blake’s achievement of twenty-five books in thirty months…definitely, they would make the list right away.

9. Author introductions. Sure, I’m always willing to introduce new authors.

0. Books signings, and book launches are on a case by case basis, but I rarely say no.

11. What do I benefit from it? I’m here to help the Indie, whether they are green out of the box or a Vet with hundreds of books under their belt. I do this also to attract attention to my books and hopefully gain some sales from it. I place your books on here for free with the hopes of attracting attention to my own.

12. Book Requirements. That’s a tough one. I look for a book with a catchy title, and nice cover design. Their splash has to pull me in and make me want to read more. And if I do buy it or download it for free, I plug it. With that said, I want to make something clear about the cover. I understand new authors may not be able to hire an illustrator, or have the talent to create their own, or know of someone who is an artist willing to give a drawing, painting or picture. I do not solely use the cover and title has ear-marks. The splash, however, is the essence behind the author’s creativity and it does take some skill to master. I do depend on this aspect. I have turned down and sent reject emails based on this. The title was grabbing. The artwork superb. But the splash, well it told me nothing. On the other hand, I saw crappy titles, crappy artwork, but after reading the splash I had to read more. The splash aroused curiosity and I wanted to read more. Some of the best books are in plain Jane wrappers.

So, that’s it in a nut shell. If I did not answer your question, please feel free to send me an email csylcox@charter.net.

Nostalgic horror anthology made me want to go back to the Drive-in or see a Saturday Matinee … Riveting … Consuming!

Nostalgic horror anthology made want to go back to the Drive-in or see a Saturday Matinee ... Riveting ... Consuming! ,

American Nightmare [Kindle Edition]
George Cotronis (Editor

It’s the 1950s. There’s always something good on the radio, cherry red Cadillacs cruise the streets and everything is always perfect. Marilyn is still alive and the War is over. America goes to bed, nuclear annihilation postponed another day.

Welcome to the American Nightmare.

Nuclear families dabbling in the occult. Little League games in the summer, old blood spilled in the dust. Unspeakable things hiss and crawl, unseen along the 38th parallel, camouflaged under muzzle flashes. This is what happens behind the white picket fences and waving flags.

Praise for American Nightmare:

“Buried in the nostalgia and innocence of bygone days, American Nightmare is a riveting collection of dark stories that leaves the big-block motor running, as we sneak into a deserted alley to huff on a Pall Mall, our hair slicked back, a switchblade clicking open as the shadows close in around us. Behind a closed door, away from the manicured lawn, the music continues—guitar licks and a back beat that just won’t quit—drowning out the screams, as we pull the blinds down, wash off our tentacles, and cinch our masks on tight.”
—Richard Thomas, Staring Into the Abyss

Grandma Elspeth’s Enchiridion for Domestic Harmony – Rachel Anding
In the Blood – Mark W. Coulter
Chiaroscuro – Dino Parenti
Bow Creek – Raymond Little
Glow – Adrean Messmer
Lucy’s Lips – Madeleine Swann
Pear People from Planet 13 – MP Johnson
Ghost Girl, Zombie Boy and the Count – Chris Thorndycroft
The Two Monsters of Levittown – T. Fox Dunham
Double Feature – Neal Litherland
The Black Pharaoh of Hollywood – Ian Welke
The King – W. P. Johnson
A Night to Remember – Tim Marquitz
All the Beautiful Marilyns – Max Booth III

What would you do when faced with a madman!

What would you do when faced with a madman!

ART [Kindle Edition]

WARNING: The following book has some scenes which some readers may find distressing. This novel is intended for a mature audience only.

Martin Andrews is in a rut. Tired of the daily grind of life as a police officer and with a heavily pregnant wife, he is disillusioned, desperate to give his unborn child a chance in a world in which he has lost all faith.

Little does Andrews know that amid the petty crimes and muggings, robbery and prostitution, a new threat is looming, one which will push Andrews to the very edges of his sanity.

His nemesis is a man without limits. A man with a grand idea for a great work; a masterpiece which will give him the recognition he craves, no matter the cost.

From the minds of Matt Shaw (Sick B*stards, Happy Ever After, The Cabin) & Michael Bray (Whisper, Funhouse, MEAT) comes ART. Told from the viewpoint of both killer (Shaw) and Detective (Bray), ART is a journey into the darkest, most twisted part of the human psyche.

Two authors. One ending.

Ladies and Gentlemen May I Introduce You to Luke Herron Davis

 

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About Luke

“The price of liberty is eternal vigilance.”-Thomas JeffersonI am absolutely crazy in love with my wife, Christy. My Meyers-Briggs profile is INFJ. I like German beer like Beck’s, Bitburger, and Lutherbier. My favorite Old Testament prophet is Nahum, and as far as Biblical women go, you can’t do much better than Jael in Judges 4. I teach, sometimes well. My first novel, Litany of Secrets, comes out in November 2013.

Favorite Quotations

“I promise that I will not exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience.”-Ronald Reagan, during 1984 debate with Walter Mondale”I’m an academic. My head tells me I will never understand God. [And my heart] tells me I’m not meant to. Faith is a gift I have yet to receive.” -Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon, in “Angels and Demons”

“To truly pursue the living God, we have to see the need for questions…Questions aren’t scary. What is scary is when people don’t have them. What is tragic is faith that has no room for them.” -Rob Bell

“I was born in Chicago. When I was ten, my parents moved to Downers Grove, Illinois. When I was twelve, I found them.” -Emo Philips

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Ladies and Gentlemen May I Introduce You to David Workman

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David Workman has spent most of his 20-year writing career hammering out advertising and marketing copy for companies large and small. A native St. Louisan, he lived in Southern California for three years and North Carolina for four before he and his wife and two kids landed back in St. Louis, where he is hard at work on a sequel.

 

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