Freebies
Life is Live and a Freebie
Life isn’t always fabulous, but it is mostly very interesting. Waiting for things to be perfect is never going to work out, so here I am – blogging away before being totally caught up with everything. It’s taken me a while, but I get that particular thing now – that I’m not likely to ever be totally caught up. Ha – who knew! Anyway. I am pretty close to being caught up again. Getting there with it all no matter how much I would not have believed it possible a couple of months ago.
Life has been particularly insane, and I admit, particularly terrifying for quite a long time. Finally I figured that I’d just do things scared. It was either that or hide under the bed for ever. Funny thing with fear though. The minute you turn around from running like hell and face it, it often turns out to be just a silly old thing, and not half as scary as it pretended to be before you decided to eyeball it. Not always, but often enough to warrant a bit of bravery.
I can no longer afford to be a perfectionist, which is a good thing. Learning to take things on the chin has – well – kind of hurt my chin, but it is rather fabulous to realise that even though everything this past year has most certainly been so far away from perfect as to be on different planets, at least I’m still standing, smiling, and doing the best that I can. I’ll be back to blogland every Thursday regardless of what’s happening in life. It’s my mission in life now to get to answer every comment ever written!! (On my blog that is – have fun with yours yourself)
As always, before life got a little dangerous, I celebrate my birthday on the 15th with a free story. While zooming around Amazon to set this up I saw that Echoes is almost at the end of a Select cycle, so I decided to use the final couple of days of this to give it away now instead. If you don’t already have it please do head over and download it. It will be free from right now to the 10th of March. Click on the cover image below to go to your particular Amazon site.
Freebie Alert
A couple of my books will be free around now for the next couple of days. Right now African Me is, so if you fancy it just click on the cover image to zoom over to Amazon for download. While you’re there Sands of Time is also free if you like wild romps with dragons and chatty spacecraft.
Freebie
I’ve finally added Nkoninkoni to KDP Select. I wanted to be sure of everything being legal, ninny that I am, after my rights reverted at the end of the contract with the rhino anthology publishers who asked me to contribute. Each invited author was given a selection of animals to choose from to use in their story, and I was chuffed to get the Wildebeest.
I like to play when I write short. It’s a fabulous way to explore new ways to write, or to use themes that you wouldn’t normally want to use in a novel length story. I had a lot of fun with this one, and now that it’s on Select I’ve made it free now and for the next three days, so if you’d like a copy, just click on the cover image and it will zoom you over to Amazon to download.
Happy Christmas!
Happy Christmas everyone! Happy Every Other Thing Too! Whatever you’re doing today, please open your arms and receive this HUGE virtual hug and a whole lot of virtual kisses from me, and also wishes for peace, joy, and love to descend upon you forthwith in piles and piles and piles.
By way of a pressie for any of you who fancy it, I’ve made Echoes of Narcissus free on Amazon until 29 December – just click on the cover image to zoom over to Amazon and download it.
Cross Genre Promotion by Authors from Around the World
Many thanks to Michael Fedison for setting up this great cross genre book promotion, and also for including me in it. The authors included here from all around the world each have special deals for you starting from today and right up to the twenty second of November, so zoom on over to their sites to stock up on your favourite genres at very special prices. I’ve got a couple of deals and freebies too, which I’ll share the links to right after sharing the list of the fabulous authors taking part in this, with the genres that they write in next to their names. Every single one of them has discounts happening, so just click on their monikers below to check them out.
Barbara Monier Contemporary Literary Fiction
John Howell Fiction Thriller
Michael Fedison YA Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Shehanne Moore Smexy Historical Romance – Yes that word is indeed Smexy and not a typo
Janice Spina Middle-Grade Junior Detective Series
Luciana Cavallaro Historical Fiction – Mythology Retold
Evelyne Holingue Middle-Grade Fiction
Sonya Solomonovich Time-Travel Fantasy
Jennifer Chow Adult Cozy Mystery – The beginning of a new series
Nicki Chen Historical Fiction – WWII China
Katie Cross YA Fantasy
There they all are! Now it’s my turn. Firstly I must apologise for a mistake that I made and only discovered this morning. A couple of my discounted books are only available at the low price at Amazon.com and another couple are only available at Amazon.uk. I never realised that it was one or the other and not both for these deals, but next time I’ll make sure that they’re all on special at the same time. Just click on the cover pics to follow the links to Amazon. The freebies should be free on all Amazon platforms.
First up, on Kindle Countdown priced at 99 cents from now to 18 November at Amazon.com is The Absolute Indie. It contains all you need to know if you’re publishing on Amazon and CreateSpace for the first time, or if you’ve already published but have found it tricky. Also for those of you who have yet to include the NCX table of contents which is now mandatory on Amazon, this book will show you how to do that – easy peasy. It also has loads of links to places and freebies useful to Indie authors and includes a simple how to section on making your own covers.
Number two on Kindle Countdown for 99 cents at Amazon.com to 18 November is Echoes of Narcissus – my novel about a woman who discovers that she’s married to a malignant narcissist, and her journey out of there, with a bit of luck and the help of new friends.
Number one Kindle Countdown for Amazon.uk only at 99 cents is my African Me & Satellite TV. A story about racial hatred set in Zimbabwe, and about a woman finding her own inner strength and the ability to stand up for her beliefs.
Number two Kindle Countdown for Amazon.uk only at 99 cents is Sands of Time, the first book in my Sci-Fi series about the universal battle between very real and physical good and evil. Dragons, demons, and sentient chickens ahead! Books two and three in this series will be released in January 2015.
Finally two freebies for all over the place. First is my Fly Birdie. A short story about a little bird, a magical tree cutter, and a mystical tree, and how these three things help Hannah learn to love again.
Lastly is Skin – the final freebie. A short story about mankind. I have actually completely changed the ending to this story since it was first published, so if any of you actually bought it, please let me know and I will send you a copy of the new version if you want it.
New Book, Little Freebie, and Coming Kindle Countdowns
I was planning on trying to organise a little launch tour this weekend for my Beginners Guide to Publishing on Amazon, The Absolute Indie, but what with being out for the count lately and my internet connection behaving badly, it’s too late for that now. Still, there are Kindle countdown deals set to run to the eleventh of September which I can’t cancel for African Me & Satellite TV, Echoes of Narcissus, and Shadow People. I’ll post again when the countdowns start today sometime. Fly Birdie will be free from now till the ninth. Click on the cover below if you fancy a short read, and I’ll share here when The Visitation goes free tomorrow.
My other short story, Nkoninkoni’s rights have reverted to me, and is live for sale on Amazon but not enrolled in Select yet until I find out from the publisher of the anthology that it’s in whether or not the eBook is for sale anywhere else. In the meantime it’s a free download when anyone signs up for my newsletter. If you want to get it that way, just click on the picture of its cover in the sidebar. For those already signed up for my newsletter, just yell if you’d like a copy and I’ll email one to you. To see it on Amazon click on the cover below.
The Absolute Indie is on Kindle Unlimited which should be interesting – seeing how many pages of it will be read when it’s downloaded that way. Here it is – poor thing – the most epic how not to launch a book ever. I’ll give it a better boost later when the memories of the Reaper subside.
Trolley Armageddon and Free Short Stories
I’m in the middle of my launch tour for Echoes of Narcissus in the Gardens of Delight, and absolutely loving it! Party time! It’s fantastic connecting with new readers and friends on all the blogs, and also hearing from people who have suffered the same as Donna has. I’ll introduce you to all my very kind hosts when the tour wraps up on the 31st.
I’m very late logging on today because I had to go to town, and having committed the unforgivable sin of forgetting to buy ice cream in the first place, there would have been no peace otherwise. Then I spotted a thing – and then another thing – you know how it goes.
When I headed out the door I was accosted by a guy in a store uniform who very firmly insisted that he’d be pushing my trolley to the car. I said no and tried to hang on to it because I have my usual lovely old guy, who always hangs around the parking lot trying to earn a couple of bucks helping people wheel and pack their groceries, and he tells the best kind of stories. He was stronger than I though, and wrestled my trolley away, with me, and very soon my usual trolley guy too, in hot pursuit. Finally at the car a war had begun with a fairly loud argument, choice swearwords and the shaking of fists. I thought I’d just get a pic of the warriors for my blog – as you do – but the minute I aimed my phone at them, the trolley fell over – pushing me into reverse. Fortunately I’d already opened the back hatch so my bum hit nice soft car carpet instead of tarmac, but I didn’t get my fight scene shot at all.
Totally ruined my photo opportunity, and I wasn’t inclined to take another, so all I got was that pole with some weird objects flying through the air – I think one’s a bird but the other behind the pole isn’t – I cropped it and it just looks like a creepy thing. Poor trolley guys were mortified though, and I mortified them further laughing my head off while they scrambled around making sure that nothing had tumbled out of the trolley. I really love my beautiful, funny Africa. Then I had to go back in because I’d forgotten the ice-cream again, so I took this lovely pic of a trolley for you instead.
For those of you who fancy a short read and haven’t already got these, my two Fly Birdie and The Visitation are free from now until the 30th December.
Free Short Stories
My two short stories are free on Amazon until 22 December if anyone fancies a little read.
Feed My Reads Event and Freebies
At 11am UK time I’ll be off to partake in my first ever event over at Feed My Reads Event on Facebook. This event is for authors, bloggers, illustrators and writers of all descriptions. Each person gets an hour slot at a time to share their work in their own way. I find this appealing in many ways. Firstly it’s not like one person running the whole deal and ending up under the table feeling like a piece of burned out charcoal at the end of it, and also because of the diversity of the participants. It’s great meeting new people.
This is Feed My Reads first event, and the first event quite like it that I’ve ever seen. I’m pretty sure that it’s going to be a huge deal in time to come. At the helm is Fraser Stoopman, who is setting up Feed My Reads sites and groups on all platforms, so that this will not be a one off event, but an ongoing activity sharing news and promotions for writers and artists across the globe. Definitely a great concept and a fantastic foot in the door for all of our future work. Being as this is the first event, there are still slots available, so all you bloggers, scribblers and artists zoom on over and PM Fraser to get your hour. He’s a very nice guy and you can be sure of a warm welcome.
I’m sure that any of you guys who wanted my two short stories on Amazon probably have them already, but for any of my new friends who don’t, I’ve got them up for free today again. Shadow People and African Me & Satellite TV will be .99c for a while from today too. Zoom down to your left – the links in my blogroll will take you straight there.
National Braai Day in South Africa – and Another Little Freebie
It’s a public holiday here today. National Heritage Day/National Braai Day. I’ve been away for so long I haven’t got a clue why it’s got two names. I’ll be off to chop and dice stuff for salads and sides in a minute, before the manly process of cooking piles of meat and other bits on fire begins. Not wimmin’s work braaing, and our input or advice is most certainly not appreciated in this instance, in fact it’s generally most rudely discouraged. Not that I’m complaining. This means that I get to sit on my bum sipping bubbles, and generally waft around eyeballing things. Already the air all around is a haze of smoke. South Africans take their braais very seriously, and seeing as how this is a day all about that, I’m guessing the combined countrywide haze of millions of cooking fires will be spotted from space. So I’m off to join the fun.
Before I go I’ll pop the links up for The Visitation. It will be free on Amazon from tomorrow 25-27 September in case anyone fancies a short read. I actually thought I had it up for free from today, so sorry for the misunderstanding, but when I popped over to see why it hadn’t changed over yet there was nothing there. I must have pushed the wrong button. I’ll post the links again tomorrow. Apologies for that!
Jo Robinson 