A lot of folks are getting ready to promote their new books.
Blog tours, Facebook, Twitter, books for review, book trailers.
As many as there are books, there are options to get out the word.
But what really works?
Would anyone like to chime in on how they best utilized their valuable
marketing dollars?
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Friday, October 7, 2011
LET’S TALK SOME MORE CREEPY! I LOVE CREEPY!
I guess it’s pretty obvious from some of my last posts that I absolutely love evil characters. Good always abounds in inspirational fiction, but a truly evil character that the writer has to rein in enough to stay within boundaries can be quite a challenge. I love writing the creepy, particularly when you find your creeps “also” have redeeming qualities.
Think Sweeney Todd, folks. He was “evil” but why? What pushes a perfectly normal, sane individual to that brink?
Shouldn’t we ALL say there but the grace of God go I?
Here’s another little sample. Let me know what you think of this stalker!
“Don’t make another sound or I’ll kill you.” Tangling his fingers into the swirly softness of her hair, he reveled in the silkiness. His other hand held tight across her mouth and offered its own hint of danger.
Her round blue eyes darted back and forth.
“Look all you want. There’s no knight gonna show up to save you. Are you happy now, Princess? I used to be happy. A kid who believed his life would never change. Well, guess whose life is gonna change tonight?”
She twisted against his hands. He dug in harder and eyed his surroundings. No one in sight. Leaning in closer to her ear, he brushed the curls from her face with his lips. “Do you know what it’s like to have a parade of ‘uncles’ moving through your front door like cockroaches, Princess?”
His fingers muffled her response and her eyes blinked wildly.
“Makes it hard to believe God’s watching over you, doesn’t it? Maybe He’s forgetting you the same way He forgot about me.”
Choking down his excitement, he welcomed her spiraling fear. He yanked her around the neck and hauled her behind the dumpster, where a brown, furry something with bulging eyes scuttled over her feet and into the night. She snatched her legs under her as her breathing accelerated. He shoved her head against the side of the dumpster with a smack. Her eyes rolled back under fluttering lashes.
Kyle struggled with his clothing.
Rochelle stirred. “Help me, someone! Please, God!” Her expression begged him to stop.
After her plea to the God Who Didn’t Care, Kyle laughed in her face and fired off a string of obscenities worthy of his father’s associates.
In control again, he delivered the first blow. “That one’s for the old man.”
Her head slammed against the frozen ground with a satisfying thud. He hit again. “And that one for the old lady.”
“But this one.” He backhanded her across the lip. “This one’s for me.”
Tiny flakes stuck to her eyelashes as she lay, barely conscious, against the cold ground.He waited—she had to be fully awake.
He wanted her fully awake.
Without warning, she surprised him with a knee to the shin. His leg burned, and he clutched it with one hand as his lip curled back. “Watch it, Princess!” His fingers ripped into her hair. He tugged her face closer—his breath the only air moving. A thin line of blood trickled from the lid of her left eye, which had already swelled shut. Drops dyed the snow red. The blows to her head had taken most of the fight out. Drawing her face to within an inch of his, he inhaled deeply of her perfume and hesitated.
Remember what’s really important.
His tongue flicked out, snaking to the nape of her neck just below her right earlobe. Rewarded with a terrified moan, he nudged her cheek with his chin.
LEST YOU THINK I FORGOT, HERE IS WHERE THE KNIGHT RIDES IN. BUT IS HE ABLE TO SAVE THE DAY OR COST HER HER LIFE? MAYBE HE'S NOT A KNIGHT AFTER ALL, BUT THAT'S A STORY FOR ANOTHER DAY...
While the stalker's creepy, what did we learn about him through dialogue and actions that tells us he had a heart at some point? Any thoughts?
Think Sweeney Todd, folks. He was “evil” but why? What pushes a perfectly normal, sane individual to that brink?
Shouldn’t we ALL say there but the grace of God go I?
Here’s another little sample. Let me know what you think of this stalker!
“Don’t make another sound or I’ll kill you.” Tangling his fingers into the swirly softness of her hair, he reveled in the silkiness. His other hand held tight across her mouth and offered its own hint of danger.
Her round blue eyes darted back and forth.
“Look all you want. There’s no knight gonna show up to save you. Are you happy now, Princess? I used to be happy. A kid who believed his life would never change. Well, guess whose life is gonna change tonight?”
She twisted against his hands. He dug in harder and eyed his surroundings. No one in sight. Leaning in closer to her ear, he brushed the curls from her face with his lips. “Do you know what it’s like to have a parade of ‘uncles’ moving through your front door like cockroaches, Princess?”
His fingers muffled her response and her eyes blinked wildly.
“Makes it hard to believe God’s watching over you, doesn’t it? Maybe He’s forgetting you the same way He forgot about me.”
Choking down his excitement, he welcomed her spiraling fear. He yanked her around the neck and hauled her behind the dumpster, where a brown, furry something with bulging eyes scuttled over her feet and into the night. She snatched her legs under her as her breathing accelerated. He shoved her head against the side of the dumpster with a smack. Her eyes rolled back under fluttering lashes.
Kyle struggled with his clothing.
Rochelle stirred. “Help me, someone! Please, God!” Her expression begged him to stop.
After her plea to the God Who Didn’t Care, Kyle laughed in her face and fired off a string of obscenities worthy of his father’s associates.
In control again, he delivered the first blow. “That one’s for the old man.”
Her head slammed against the frozen ground with a satisfying thud. He hit again. “And that one for the old lady.”
“But this one.” He backhanded her across the lip. “This one’s for me.”
Tiny flakes stuck to her eyelashes as she lay, barely conscious, against the cold ground.He waited—she had to be fully awake.
He wanted her fully awake.
Without warning, she surprised him with a knee to the shin. His leg burned, and he clutched it with one hand as his lip curled back. “Watch it, Princess!” His fingers ripped into her hair. He tugged her face closer—his breath the only air moving. A thin line of blood trickled from the lid of her left eye, which had already swelled shut. Drops dyed the snow red. The blows to her head had taken most of the fight out. Drawing her face to within an inch of his, he inhaled deeply of her perfume and hesitated.
Remember what’s really important.
His tongue flicked out, snaking to the nape of her neck just below her right earlobe. Rewarded with a terrified moan, he nudged her cheek with his chin.
LEST YOU THINK I FORGOT, HERE IS WHERE THE KNIGHT RIDES IN. BUT IS HE ABLE TO SAVE THE DAY OR COST HER HER LIFE? MAYBE HE'S NOT A KNIGHT AFTER ALL, BUT THAT'S A STORY FOR ANOTHER DAY...
While the stalker's creepy, what did we learn about him through dialogue and actions that tells us he had a heart at some point? Any thoughts?
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