tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37693786928117262962024-02-19T08:58:59.451-07:00Random Thoughts from M.L. RyanM.L. Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13841017038113904346noreply@blogger.comBlogger72125truetag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3769378692811726296.post-13597604019293494592015-06-22T22:46:00.001-07:002015-06-22T22:46:39.723-07:00Bang for Your Buck...Which Promo Sites Have the Driest Powder<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD5nYnrBtk2m-IDDUAXIN8fTrqrj4-2ZpJQmeLN6knPooR4eZMmIdp6W9JKnHdZmYLUuBO22bTaAc9Fro0lbuQyb4zhNrYad6SuncTbcYfeqWBy2AGs9FiLW8c50z73p0mKRI-gtzr3qU/s1600/bigstock-Dynamite-Cash-With-Lit-Fuse-70838191.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD5nYnrBtk2m-IDDUAXIN8fTrqrj4-2ZpJQmeLN6knPooR4eZMmIdp6W9JKnHdZmYLUuBO22bTaAc9Fro0lbuQyb4zhNrYad6SuncTbcYfeqWBy2AGs9FiLW8c50z73p0mKRI-gtzr3qU/s320/bigstock-Dynamite-Cash-With-Lit-Fuse-70838191.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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There are a lot of sites out there for book promotion. Some are good, some...not so much. Below is one author's (me) experiences with a number of popular promo sites, number crunched and graphically displayed for your perusal.</div>
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<b><u><br /></u></b></div>
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<b><u>METHODOLOGY</u></b></div>
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All promos were for a perma-free, fantasy/paranormal romance
novel with a professionally designed cover and over 125 reviews (now up to 190)
with a 4.3 star rating on Amazon.<o:p></o:p></div>
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All promotions were scheduled with at least three days
between the next promo to assure a truer evaluation of the benefit of each
site. Bang for your buck (BFYB) was calculated by dividing the number of
downloads on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Nook and Smashwords from the beginning of the promo out 72 hours by the cost
of the promotion . The larger the BFYB, the more cost effective
the promotion.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Promos were conducted between December 23, 2014 and June 17,
2015.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><u>RESULTS<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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<b>Table 1. Promo Site Results, Ranked by BFYB, Highest
to Lowest<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; margin-left: 24.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="background: #BFBFBF; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 191; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 117.9pt;" valign="top" width="157">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Site</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #BFBFBF; border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 191; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.65pt;" valign="top" width="94">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Cost (US$)</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #BFBFBF; border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 191; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 68.85pt;" valign="top" width="92">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Downloads</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #BFBFBF; border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 191; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 94.5pt;" valign="top" width="126">
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Cost/Download</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #BFBFBF; border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-background-themecolor: background1; mso-background-themeshade: 191; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 67.5pt;" valign="top" width="90">
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">BFYB</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 19.5pt; mso-yfti-irow: 1;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 19.5pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 117.9pt;" valign="top" width="157">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
BookBub<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 19.5pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.65pt;" valign="top" width="94">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
195.00<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 19.5pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 68.85pt;" valign="top" width="92">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
25423<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 19.5pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 94.5pt;" valign="top" width="126">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
0.007670<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 19.5pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 67.5pt;" valign="top" width="90">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
130.37<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 2;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 15.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 117.9pt;" valign="top" width="157">
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eReader News Today<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.65pt;" valign="top" width="94">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
30.00<o:p></o:p></div>
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<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 68.85pt;" valign="top" width="92">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
993<o:p></o:p></div>
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<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 94.5pt;" valign="top" width="126">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
0.030211<o:p></o:p></div>
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<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 67.5pt;" valign="top" width="90">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
33.10<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr style="height: 15.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 3;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 15.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 117.9pt;" valign="top" width="157">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Lendle Book of the Day<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.65pt;" valign="top" width="94">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
35.00<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 68.85pt;" valign="top" width="92">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
1026<o:p></o:p></div>
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<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 94.5pt;" valign="top" width="126">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
0.034113<o:p></o:p></div>
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<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 67.5pt;" valign="top" width="90">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
29.31<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr style="height: 15.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 4;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 15.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 117.9pt;" valign="top" width="157">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Books Butterfly<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.65pt;" valign="top" width="94">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
28.00<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 68.85pt;" valign="top" width="92">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
755<o:p></o:p></div>
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<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 94.5pt;" valign="top" width="126">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
0.037086<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 67.5pt;" valign="top" width="90">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
26.96<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 5;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 15.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 117.9pt;" valign="top" width="157">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Free Booksy<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.65pt;" valign="top" width="94">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
100.00<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 68.85pt;" valign="top" width="92">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
2032<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 94.5pt;" valign="top" width="126">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
0.049213<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 67.5pt;" valign="top" width="90">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
20.32<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 6;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 15.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 117.9pt;" valign="top" width="157">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Free Kindle Books<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.65pt;" valign="top" width="94">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
25.00<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 68.85pt;" valign="top" width="92">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
458<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 94.5pt;" valign="top" width="126">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
0.054585<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 67.5pt;" valign="top" width="90">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
18.32<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 7;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 117.9pt;" valign="top" width="157">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
eBooksoda<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.65pt;" valign="top" width="94">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
10.00<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 68.85pt;" valign="top" width="92">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
141<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 94.5pt;" valign="top" width="126">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
0.070922<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 67.5pt;" valign="top" width="90">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
14.10<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 8;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 117.9pt;" valign="top" width="157">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
BKnight (Fiverr)<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.65pt;" valign="top" width="94">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
15.75<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 68.85pt;" valign="top" width="92">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
205<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 94.5pt;" valign="top" width="126">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
0.076829<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 67.5pt;" valign="top" width="90">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
13.02<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 9;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 117.9pt;" valign="top" width="157">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Kindle Book Review<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.65pt;" valign="top" width="94">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
20.00<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 68.85pt;" valign="top" width="92">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
258<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 94.5pt;" valign="top" width="126">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
0.077519<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 67.5pt;" valign="top" width="90">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
12.90<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 10;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 117.9pt;" valign="top" width="157">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Digital Books Today<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.65pt;" valign="top" width="94">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
20.00<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 68.85pt;" valign="top" width="92">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
186<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 94.5pt;" valign="top" width="126">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
0.107527<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 67.5pt;" valign="top" width="90">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
9.30<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 11;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 117.9pt;" valign="top" width="157">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Best Graphic (Fiverr)<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.65pt;" valign="top" width="94">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
5.50<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 68.85pt;" valign="top" width="92">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
47<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 94.5pt;" valign="top" width="126">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
0.117021<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 67.5pt;" valign="top" width="90">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
8.55<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 12;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 117.9pt;" valign="top" width="157">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Book Sends<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.65pt;" valign="top" width="94">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
50.00<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 68.85pt;" valign="top" width="92">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
380<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 94.5pt;" valign="top" width="126">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
0.131579<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 67.5pt;" valign="top" width="90">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
7.60<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 13;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 117.9pt;" valign="top" width="157">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
eBookImpresario<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.65pt;" valign="top" width="94">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
5.00<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 68.85pt;" valign="top" width="92">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
38<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 94.5pt;" valign="top" width="126">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
0.131579<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 67.5pt;" valign="top" width="90">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
7.60<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 14;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 117.9pt;" valign="top" width="157">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Book Kitty (Fiverr)<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.65pt;" valign="top" width="94">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
5.50<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 68.85pt;" valign="top" width="92">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
28<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 94.5pt;" valign="top" width="126">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
0.196429<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 67.5pt;" valign="top" width="90">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
5.09<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 15;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 117.9pt;" valign="top" width="157">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
New Free Kindle Books<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.65pt;" valign="top" width="94">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
5.00<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 68.85pt;" valign="top" width="92">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
20<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 94.5pt;" valign="top" width="126">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
0.250000<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 67.5pt;" valign="top" width="90">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
4.00<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 16;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 117.9pt;" valign="top" width="157">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
eBookasaurus<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.65pt;" valign="top" width="94">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
10.00<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 68.85pt;" valign="top" width="92">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
35<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 94.5pt;" valign="top" width="126">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
0.285714<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 67.5pt;" valign="top" width="90">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
3.50<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 17;">
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Bindingsauthor (Fiverr)<o:p></o:p></div>
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5.50<o:p></o:p></div>
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12<o:p></o:p></div>
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0.458333<o:p></o:p></div>
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<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 67.5pt;" valign="top" width="90">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
2.18<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 18;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 117.9pt;" valign="top" width="157">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Indie Book of the Day<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
30.00<o:p></o:p></div>
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<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 68.85pt;" valign="top" width="92">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
31<o:p></o:p></div>
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<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 94.5pt;" valign="top" width="126">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
0.967742<o:p></o:p></div>
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<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 67.5pt;" valign="top" width="90">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
1.03<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 19; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 117.9pt;" valign="top" width="157">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Bookbear<o:p></o:p></div>
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<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 70.65pt;" valign="top" width="94">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
20.00<o:p></o:p></div>
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<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 68.85pt;" valign="top" width="92">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
12<o:p></o:p></div>
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<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 94.5pt;" valign="top" width="126">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
1.666667<o:p></o:p></div>
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<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 67.5pt;" valign="top" width="90">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
0.60<o:p></o:p></div>
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</tr>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-no-proof: yes;"><br clear="all" style="mso-special-character: line-break; page-break-before: always;" />
</span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Figure 1.</b> <b>BFYB,
by Site (alphabetized)<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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So, what can one conclude from all this? The statistically sound way to get a good idea of a site's worth would be to gather this information from lots of authors to establish a mean BFYB with standard deviations. My data does not have that, but I think it gives a good picture of what one might expect. Not surprisingly, the Bub was da bomb. Beyond that, there are a number of sites that had good numbers, and some were definite duds. Remember, the results are likely genre-specific, and subject to the vagaries of the cosmic karma that influences indie book sales (e.g., phases of the moon, placement on the site's page or day of the promotion). </div>
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I find Tuesdays, and a waxing gibbous are best.</div>
M.L. Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13841017038113904346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3769378692811726296.post-9145731307588053192015-04-12T13:52:00.001-07:002015-04-12T13:53:09.083-07:00Grilled Cheese Erotica<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj08tUxhe5TKTPgcXmEEIWamdt2uZQOV29ZDYQb4r0bTQNVMhpEae9XKfUqUfwPrVRVnuMCa5cKKQxUhR5h8B7F1vm4wuFNIioJuFz-PdZpWAwCHWopcLlVEa8R59M5gu5nt8ce16kK8fg/s1600/grahamwich-grilled-cheese-close-up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj08tUxhe5TKTPgcXmEEIWamdt2uZQOV29ZDYQb4r0bTQNVMhpEae9XKfUqUfwPrVRVnuMCa5cKKQxUhR5h8B7F1vm4wuFNIioJuFz-PdZpWAwCHWopcLlVEa8R59M5gu5nt8ce16kK8fg/s1600/grahamwich-grilled-cheese-close-up.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For National Grilled Cheese Day, the Huffington Post posted about a study claiming people who love grilled cheese have more sex than non-grilled cheesers. <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/08/grilled-cheese-sex-bow-chica-bow-wow_n_7027572.html?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000618" target="_blank">Here's the article</a>:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As a GC-lover myself, I understand the connection...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>I slathered on the butter, because that’s the way I like it.
Its doughy surface morphed from pale to
glistening, dark, and I smiled knowing my ministrations were responsible for
this metamorphosis. Furtively, I watched
with longing as it sizzled and could barely control myself once I caught the
first whiff of its decadent aroma, wafting up in delicious waves as it grew
ready. When I could stand it no longer,
I slid it directly onto the counter, not bothering with the normal conventions
of dishware. It lay there, taunting me
from its granite perch. <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“Eat me,” it moaned.
“Eat me, now.” <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Grabbing it with both hands, I was only vaguely
aware my flesh burned where I touched it. I didn’t care, I only wanted to slake
my burgeoning desires. I pulled the
sides apart roughly, mesmerized by the soft tendrils of molten gold that appeared
between the moist folds of its now exposed core. I devoured it, and when there was no more,
slowly licked my cheese-drenched fingers in a desperate attempt to make the
pleasure last.</i></span></span></div>
M.L. Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13841017038113904346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3769378692811726296.post-32429336854342135562014-10-14T07:42:00.000-07:002014-10-14T13:35:37.070-07:00And I thought my life was tough....<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXEzbsAVgGQIgMRsQBDwESuUVYLYZNIOjZmqDHzYDOkBAV_uAhEBvNXDrLkwtOAD_70_-U-dq_uN6yZyngicJSGiS0npruq1l3r_Q19CYKdXY51JnQ1RSBgd-nxLkFB0tIJ606TvkKJjA/s1600/larcena-pennington-page-scott.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXEzbsAVgGQIgMRsQBDwESuUVYLYZNIOjZmqDHzYDOkBAV_uAhEBvNXDrLkwtOAD_70_-U-dq_uN6yZyngicJSGiS0npruq1l3r_Q19CYKdXY51JnQ1RSBgd-nxLkFB0tIJ606TvkKJjA/s1600/larcena-pennington-page-scott.jpg" height="320" width="256" /></a></div>
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I love cemeteries.
The older the better. They are
filled with ghosts of the past.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Evergreen Cemetery in Tucson holds the remains of thousands
of gutsy men and women willing to brave the unknown in Territorial Arizona. A few years back, while wandering through the
worn graves I noticed a small, unassuming marker. I don’t know why it caught my eye, or why I
wrote down the name carved into the stone.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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Once home, I did some research. No one personified the perils awaiting those
who ventured into the southwest desert better than the occupant of that
plot. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Larcena Ann Pennington was born in Tennessee and came to Tucson
when she was twenty years old. Two years
later, she married John H. Page. A year
after that, she was kidnapped by Apaches while her husband was away doing
whatever it was frontiersmen did in 1860. The day-long march over rough terrain was
difficult for Larcena, and frustrated with her inability to keep pace, her
captors stripped her to her petticoat, beat, speared, and finally threw her over
a ledge. Some accounts say they also
shot her a couple of times for good measure before they left her for dead in a
snowbank twenty feet down.
Confident all the stabbing,
punching and plummeting had killed their prisoner, the Apaches distributed Larcena’s
clothing and shoes between them, and continued on their way.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Later that day, John returned to discover his wife and many
of their provisions missing. I picture
him trying to decide if their homestead had been raided or if Larcena had just
gotten fed up with living in the middle of nowhere and took off. Either way, being a man with mad pioneer
skills, he tracked her boot prints to the spot where she had been, just days
before, unceremoniously shoved to her death. <o:p></o:p></div>
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However, the plucky Mrs. Page was not so easily
dispatched. Despite her injuries, she was merely knocked
out. When she finally came to, she heard
John calling her name. Three things
worked against Larcena: She was too weak
to respond, her husband didn’t peer down into the gully where she laid, and,
most importantly, one of the Apaches now wore the boots. John continued on, following the prints he
believed were made by his wife. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Undaunted by her bad luck and despite the injuries, Larcena eventually
managed to get herself moving. After ten
days, subsisting on only native plants and melted snow, she heard the sound of
wagon wheel s and climbed to the top of a ridge to get a better look. Using her petticoat attached to a stick, she
tried to signal the people below. Much
to her chagrin, no one noticed and by the time she made it down, everyone was
gone. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Did Larcena lose hope?
Of course not! She was one kick-ass woman; no kidnapping/murder attempt/feeling like crap was going to stop her. A few days later,
starving and decidedly under dressed, she crawled into a lumber camp. At first, the men thought she was a wayward
squaw and almost shot her before one of them realized who she was. Good thing.
How ironic if she’d survived the wounds, the fall, and the wilderness
for two weeks only to be cut down because of mistaken identity.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Larcena recovered from the ordeal, but did not escape
further tragedy. When she was three
months pregnant with her first child, John Page was killed by Apaches, a fate also
suffered by her father and two brothers.
One sister succumbed to malaria, another to pneumonia. Larcena contracted smallpox but that didn’t
kill her either. In fact, she lived
until she was seventy-six, a tremendous accomplishment given the era and her
history.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I believe Larcena called out to me that day, knowing I would
appreciate her tenacity and indomitable spirit.
Have you ever experienced a message from beyond the grave? One commenter will win digital copies of the
first three books in my Coursodon Dimension series.<o:p></o:p></div>
M.L. Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13841017038113904346noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3769378692811726296.post-45400575518494114532014-05-28T08:28:00.000-07:002014-05-28T08:28:11.268-07:00New Sci-Fi Romance Anthology - StardustMy short story - <i>Life Companion</i> - is now available in an anthology compiled by Cynthia Shepp and Rene Folsom. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KKB499M/?tag=indiestyle-20" target="_blank">Stardust </a> is a collection of ten fantastic shorts.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijjcQIiz1dvu7EPf4y081khe-zCqW5kHb186UlH4Roml0PqG6T_rj0Ea5Kv2TBtleNhMFTBGyupTFW46KofTtsE0FCPf2ZPp3aAZ4bcNngGsurqtifjnZv0-hAKHlCDZOI0Si_Uhry-Y0/s1600/stardust+promo+photo1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijjcQIiz1dvu7EPf4y081khe-zCqW5kHb186UlH4Roml0PqG6T_rj0Ea5Kv2TBtleNhMFTBGyupTFW46KofTtsE0FCPf2ZPp3aAZ4bcNngGsurqtifjnZv0-hAKHlCDZOI0Si_Uhry-Y0/s1600/stardust+promo+photo1.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a><b>Welcome to a world where space travel by the common man is as normal as getting on a plane, life has been discovered on other planets, humans travel light-years to find their soul mates, technology exists along the lines that we have only imagined, and a passport will take you anywhere.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Stardust... where love has no boundaries and worlds are just waiting to be discovered.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Ten different authors. Ten tales of fantastical love. Ten different ways to discover the stars.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Here are two excerpts from <i>Life Companion</i>:</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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<span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Cole,” she sighed, with
a hint of exasperation. “His name is Cole. And I never said I wasn’t attracted
to him; he’s the handsomest man I’ve ever seen, and I love him. I’m just not <i>in love</i> with him. And before you say
what I’m sure is running through your mind, let me assure you, I paid for a
life companion whom I would love. Great sex is easy to find, and I’ve had lots
of lovers. But finding someone who makes your heart smile every time you think
of him <i>and</i> your pulse rate dance with
a mere touch, that’s much more difficult.”</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 200%;">*********</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Somehow, she managed to
rein in her libido before something happened she might regret. Mentally
flogging herself for her emotional faithlessness, she slid her fingers free and
tried to pretend she hadn’t just been fantasizing about ripping the clothes off
a virtual stranger and having wild, crazed sex with him in the comfy recliner.
And on the desk. And against the wall.</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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**********</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 6pt 0in; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Available on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KKB499M/?tag=indiestyle-20" target="_blank">Amazon</a>!</b></span></div>
<br />M.L. Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13841017038113904346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3769378692811726296.post-62264952401521170912014-04-22T11:03:00.000-07:002014-04-22T11:03:47.169-07:00Best. Promo. Ever.<div class="MsoNormal">
My book, Special Offers, is on sale for $0.99 and last week,
I ran a promotion on <a href="http://ereadernewstoday.com/">E Reader News Today</a>. I sold a crap-load of books, both on the
actual day of the promo and for a number of days since. Plus, I got a bump in sales for the other two
books in the series. </div>
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And the best
part? It only cost $9.70! That’s right, $9.70 to sell more books than I have ever sold in one month, much less in twenty-four hours. </div>
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They charge 25% of your earnings—not sales price, but what
you actually earn— from books sold directly through their links. They charged me for 112 copies, but I
actually sold a lot more than that. If
you are looking for an inexpensive way to market your work, check into this
site. It is inexpensive and from my
experience, you get a lot of bang for the buck.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
M.L. Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13841017038113904346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3769378692811726296.post-50756065355675112052014-03-11T10:18:00.000-07:002014-03-11T10:21:48.138-07:00It's Tough to Get a Self-Published Book Reviewed - Part II Where Have All the Reviewers Gone?When I released my first novel in 2012, I sent review requests to almost one hundred bloggers who reviewed in my genre. Of those requests, about twenty-five agreed to review <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0077ZJNRW" target="_blank">Special Offers</a>. By the time my third book came out this December, almost all of the previous reviewers were no longer accepting new books for review.<br />
<br />
At first, I attributed this to the increase in self-published releases and tried to find other ways to get honest reviews. After a bit of searching, I discovered a number of review blog tours. You pay a fee, and the tour takes care of finding hosts who will review your book. After I booked a couple of these, I realized that many of the bloggers that had reviewed Special Offers and were no longer taking review requests were now hosting these tours. Pretty much exclusively.<br />
<br />
I can't blame the bloggers. They get better exposure for their site and they still get a supply of free books to read and review. I can't blame the tour hosts either, they found a niche for making an buck. But for the authors, what used to be a free service - a book in exchange for commentary - now has a paid middle-man and, in my opinion, is a big reason it's getting harder and harder to find people willing to take a direct request from an author.<br />
<br />
So, what's an author to do? Even when you pay for a tour, there's no guarantee you will get a review at each site. On my last two tours, three bloggers were flakers - no post at all, and no explanation to the tour host - and one posted information about my book, but no review. Maybe they didn't like it and felt bad about saying so. Maybe they forgot to read it. Either way, I feel like I didn't really get my money's worth. What's more, it feels wrong to pay, even through a tour, for reviews. That leaves few options for what is the single most important "marketing" strategy for independent authors, the posted review.<br />
<br />
Have you experienced this as well? I'd love to hear from you to get your take.<br />
<br />M.L. Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13841017038113904346noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3769378692811726296.post-72637216306527052482014-02-25T12:59:00.001-07:002014-02-25T13:00:25.810-07:00It's Tough to Get a Self-Published Book Reviewed - Part I<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I was just reading a reviewer’s blog that describes
why they don’t accept self-published (SP) books to review. Their main reasons were SP authors can have
bad manners and argue over reviews, SP books usually have substandard covers
and too many plot holes and grammatical mistakes. These reasons for the policy excluding SP
books made me laugh. Well, maybe not LOL
laugh, but it made me smirk a little.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I’m sure that there are SP authors that can’t take
a bad – or even less than perfect – review without firing off a heated email. Obviously,
that’s extremely bad form. It’s better
to find out where they live and stalk them. Just kidding. Really.
But I know of traditionally published (TP) authors that have done the
same. Recently, an author of a
well-received, TP, first-in-a-series book, ridiculed many reviewers of the
second when certain plotting details were criticized. And this author’s disparaging remarks were in
public forums and blogs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I’ve seen a lot of fantastic TP covers, and many
mediocre TP covers as well. You know what I mean, all those covers with the
author’s name and the title in ginormous print, surrounding some okay photo or
illustration must have taken at least five minutes with photoshop to design. And while a fantastic cover can help sell a
book, it shouldn’t necessarily mean that a less than fantastic one should
relegate your tome to non-reviewable.
The reviewer can certainly comment about the cover art as part of the review,
but to not review it at all based on their interpretation of the cover art
seems a bit harsh. My first book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0077ZJNRW" target="_blank">Special Offers</a>, had a perfectly hideous cover when I first released it. Someone even nominated it for Goodread's worst cover. It still got reviews -- good ones -- even with the grimace-inducing image (but I did change the cover art, eventually).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Which brings me to the final reason why these
reviewers won’t review SP work: SP authors can’t write worth shit. Now, I have read a lot of traditionally
published books as well as many self-published ones. And, for the most part, a fair percentage of
the SP stuff is a bit iffy when it comes to plotting, grammar and
spelling. But just yesterday, I was
reading a new book from a very popular paranormal romance author where she
wrote about one character saving another’s life by establishing an unobstructed
airway – in his ESOPHAGUS. Really? There’s a reason the procedure is called a
tracheotomy. Because one’s lungs are
attached to one’s TRACHEA. The esophagus
is what one’s food slips down en route to the stomach. And the author correctly calls it a
tracheotomy later in the book. And how
did this get passed all of the TP editors, beta-readers and ARC reviewers? Plus, I already counted three typos, and I’m
only 75% through. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: middle;">
<span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So my point is this. Rather than an outright refusal to review the
dreaded SP book, why not read the first chapter. If it sucks, then don’t read any more and
forget about it. Or post that you read
the first chapter and you wanted to shove a sharp pair of scissors in your eyes
rather than have to keep reading. And
it’s not just because I am a SP author.
I think it’s a little snobbish to restrict oneself (and one’s blog readers)
to the creations that are brought forth by TP companies, as if they have all
the answers and do everything so much better than anyone else. Sure they
do. That’s why </span></span><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Mike "The
Situation" Sorrentino landed a book deal with a TP house.</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
M.L. Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13841017038113904346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3769378692811726296.post-82354089583568456752014-01-21T11:35:00.001-07:002014-01-21T11:35:39.459-07:00Enter to be a character in H.P. Mallory's next Lily Harper NovelH.P. Mallory is having a fantastic contest! If you win, she will write you into her next book. Just go to <a href="http://urbanfantasyauthor.blogspot.com/2014/01/become-character-in-next-lily-harper.html">http://urbanfantasyauthor.blogspot.com/2014/01/become-character-in-next-lily-harper.html</a> to enter (contest ends January 22nd, so get going!!)M.L. Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13841017038113904346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3769378692811726296.post-83651032113549380932013-10-18T20:43:00.000-07:002013-10-18T20:43:45.353-07:00A Paid Promotion That Was Worth the Cost<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As a self-published author, I'm always looking for ways to market my work. There are a lot of options and I've tried many: blog hops, giveaways, ads. You name it, I've given it a go. The success of such promotions can be measured in a number of ways, but if you want to increase sales most don't give much bang for the buck.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Given my prior experience, I was reluctant to shell out more money on the <a href="http://lendle.me/authors/" target="_blank">Lendle <i>Today's Featured Book</i></a> Promotion. For $35, they promote your Kindle book on their website, Twitter and Facebook and in emails to subscribers for the entire day you book the deal.<span style="line-height: 20px;"> I decided to throw caution to the wind and check it out. In that 24 period, I sold five times as many books that I had the rest of the month. Now, I don't sell huge amounts, but five times more was a big deal, and I definitely made back the invested money. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">The scientist in me wanted to try to determine if this was a fluke. So, a few weeks later, I promoted the same book again. I figured sales might be less than from the first promotion, reasoning that the people who had previously purchased the book obviously wouldn't be buying again and a similar cohort of folks would be seeing the promo. Surprisingly, the number of books sold was slightly higher the second time around.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">From my experiences, I recommend the service. I'd be interested to hear from others that have bought the other promotions - which are more expensive but are genre-specific and last a week - for their impressions.</span></span>M.L. Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13841017038113904346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3769378692811726296.post-3746913954258711672013-09-13T13:55:00.000-07:002013-09-13T13:55:12.049-07:00How Bullying Made Me a Writer<div class="MsoNormal">
“This must be a twenty-first century girl-thing,” my husband
observed while reading a story about a twelve-year-old girl who killed herself
because of cyber-bullying. He was
appalled that anyone would get together with a group of “friends” and
systematically send taunting comments to a classmate via social media. “Why do they do it?” he wondered. “Boys would ridicule you to your face but
girls do it over the internet.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Frankly, I have no clue why people chose to diminish others or
if females are more likely to use more circuitous means, but there’s nothing
new about harassment-by-proxy. When I
was in the fourth grade, I was bullied by girls I’d known for years, some of
which had previously been my friends. While
some of the torment was face-to-face, the worst of the abuse came as anonymous
letters through the mail. I’m sure if
Facebook had existed then, whoever was responsible would have used that media to
let me know how stupid, unattractive and generally worthless I was. In a way, I suppose, using the mail is more
malicious. There’s a time-lag between
writing and sending that doesn’t exist when you can just type and hit “post”. You even have to find a stamp and address the
envelope, steps that are eliminated over the internet. Regardless of the means, bulling sucks. The internet just makes it easier.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The letters showed up periodically for a few months, and then
they stopped. The next school year no
one bothered me. Maybe they found a new
person to focus their nastiness on. Maybe
they just grew up. Whatever happened, the
experience changed my perception of myself, mostly in negative ways. The constant barrage of mean-spirited bashing
made me question myself and I became wary of others. I never found out who was responsible for the
hateful letters. Part of me doesn’t care
anymore, but I do sometimes wonder, as my husband did this morning, why it
happened at all. It did, however, fuel
something positive: turning inward gave
me the chance to think up tales, something I’ve done ever since. It took decades before I actually decided to
write some of them, but now I can’t seem to stop. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying any part
of what happened was a good thing. While
it made me who I am today, I’m pretty sure I would have turned out a whole lot
better adjusted without it. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now, I don’t let anyone push me around. I still have some self-esteem issues but I
like how I turned out and I love being an author. When you read my stories, some of the scared
little kid probably leaks out into the words, as does the confident adult. As for the girls that made my life so
miserable all those years ago? Fuck
you. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hey, I said I was confident, I didn’t say I wasn’t still
pissed.</div>
M.L. Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13841017038113904346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3769378692811726296.post-26486777187466851462013-08-11T00:03:00.000-07:002013-08-11T00:03:00.168-07:00#SexySnippetThis is my first <a href="http://thenuthousescribblers.blogspot.co.uk/p/sexy-snippets.html?zx=b2c414dfd9edb082" target="_blank">Sexy Snippet</a>!<br />
In case you are also new to this, Sexy Snippets are seven sentences from an author's in-progress or published work. Today's is from the second book in the Coursodon Dimension series, <b>Special Rewards</b>.<br />
<br />
Here's the set up: Alex found a rather dangerous package in his hotel room, but the guy at the front desk can't remember much about the woman who brought it.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
~~~~****~~~~ </div>
<br />
“Let me guess, she had large breasts and was wearing a very tight sweater,” Sebastian said with a smirk.<br />
“Close, she had very large breasts, wore a low-cut, tight sweater and the only other characteristic he remembered was that she had long, auburn hair.”<br />
What is it with men and mammaries? Shove some humongous hooters in front of them and they lose 50 IQ points.<br />
“Let me get this straight,” I began, shaking my head slowly in disbelief. “He can’t recall anything important because he was mesmerized by her cleavage?”<br />
“One should never underestimate the befuddling power of boobs,” Sebastian replied.
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
~~~~****~~~~
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Thanks for stopping by. Check out my work and visit again, maybe next Sunday!</div>
M.L. Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13841017038113904346noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3769378692811726296.post-25066917429512162422013-06-28T14:14:00.000-07:002013-06-29T18:52:49.229-07:00Tidbits on Marketing for the Self-Published<div class="MsoNormal">
Not that I am, by any means, an expert on the subject, but I
thought I’d offer some personal marketing experiences for the self-published:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Any
promotion where your book(s) are part of a giveaway isn’t worth your time or
effort.</b><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">I’ve participated in about
10 blog hops, book tours, contests etc. in which people could enter to win a
free copy of my book.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">As far as I can
tell, I’ve never made a sale as a result of one of these.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Sure, people are all gung-ho for a freebie,
but if they don’t win, they don’t buy.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">It makes sense.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">If someone doesn't win,
they probably forgot they entered.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Even if
they thought the book sounded fabulous, they likely don’t even remember it by the
time the giveaway is over.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">If you are
doing a giveaway because you just want to get your work out there, then these
promotions are fine.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">If you think your
sales might improve, don’t hold your breath.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;"> </span></b><b style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Some paid advertisements are better than
others</b><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">This one’s a no-brainer, but
the trick is to figure out which sites are worth what you pay.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">In my experience, there aren’t many paid
sites that get you more in sales than you shelled out for the ad itself.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">If it’s more than $25, think long and hard
about it, unless you know books in your genre do well on that site.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">And the only way to find that out is to ask
authors in your genre where they advertised with good results.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">And make sure the author you ask is someone
who will give you the real scoop – it doesn’t help if they exaggerate their
sales just to make it seem like they’ve sold more books than they actually did.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;"> </span></b><b style="text-indent: -0.25in;">If your book is going to be free on Amazon,
make sure you promote it! </b><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Just
because your book is free on Amazon doesn’t mean people will know it’s
free.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">I used the Author Marketing Club’s
</span><a href="http://authormarketingclub.com/members/submit-your-book/" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Free Kindle
Book Submission Tool</a><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> .</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">It lets you
sign up for a bunch of promotions, most of which are free or a nominal fee, on
the days your book is free.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Make sure
you sign up as soon as you know when your free dates are; many sites require
advanced warning so don’t wait until the night before.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">I ended up with over 4,000 downloads of </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0077ZJNRW" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Special Offers</a><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> in the 2 days I
offered it for free and was #2 in free sales in my genre for about 10 hours
during that time span!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Don’t pay a crap-load of money for a
contest. </b><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">You know what I’m talking about,
pay hundreds of dollars to enter your work in a contest for
Independent/Self-Published authors so you can say you’ve won the coveted </span><i style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Obscure Literary Guild’s Gold Medal</i><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">I have no specific evidence, but I’m pretty
sure these are scams.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Use a fraction of
the money and slap your own “medal” on your book’s cover or webpage if you feel
you need validation to make more sales.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">There are only a couple of literary awards that, when associated with
your work, are going to make people stand up and take notice and I’d bet the
Pulitzer people don’t ask for a fee.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Even if they do, if your book wins one of those bad boys, your sales are
going to go up so it’s worth the cost.</span></div>
M.L. Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13841017038113904346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3769378692811726296.post-53750896312966198062013-04-14T18:00:00.002-07:002013-04-14T18:00:34.602-07:00Bewitching Book Tours MagazineI've been extremely busy with my day job this last few weeks and I've been a slacker when it comes to the blog. But I have been promoted all month by Bewitching Book Tours (I've kept everyone up to date on twitter and my Facebook page). Guess who is interviewed in the Bewitching Book Tour Magazine this month? That's right, it's me! <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/135883257/April-2013-Bewitching-Book-Tours-Magazine" target="_blank">April-2013-Bewitching-Book-Tours-Magazine</a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhg_EcSkFYTH6SC3FLZuD4Er5e0hZ9uj8LKrYEOp5V7S0CudFpd9w83PkvYWHHXsQuNJ9Kj2TEdF-qg6DgwB9G-xniFEgvT13t0dLbNx7hMj12cgIZFNQ3gW-xDdMQ6P_Fr45TJplWjZU/s1600/1339544207.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhg_EcSkFYTH6SC3FLZuD4Er5e0hZ9uj8LKrYEOp5V7S0CudFpd9w83PkvYWHHXsQuNJ9Kj2TEdF-qg6DgwB9G-xniFEgvT13t0dLbNx7hMj12cgIZFNQ3gW-xDdMQ6P_Fr45TJplWjZU/s200/1339544207.png" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />M.L. Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13841017038113904346noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3769378692811726296.post-8730323206827107842013-03-17T00:01:00.000-07:002013-03-25T08:10:52.481-07:00Big Cocks and Shamrocks (It's a Blog Hop)<center>
<a href="http://closeencounterswiththenightkind.blogspot.com/2013/01/big-cocks-and-shamrocks-st-patricks-day.html"><img border="0" height="284" src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y151/amdase/CocksandShamrocksButton_zpsc0779cf9-1_zpsb48d52d9.jpg" width="320" /></a></center>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Somehow, with a blog hop named “Big Cocks and Shamrocks,” shouldn’t
the grand prize be a giant green vibrator?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Oh, wait. It kind of
is!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The grand prize is a <b>Basket
Full of Naughty</b>. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It contains the following in a Cabal of Hotness tote:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">·
<!--[endif]-->Two-sided Tickler/Flogger
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">·
<!--[endif]-->Penis-shaped sour
candies<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">·
<!--[endif]-->Flask that reads, “Girls
with Class Don’t Need a Glass”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">·
<!--[endif]-->G-spot vibe<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">·
<!--[endif]-->Oral Sex “Essentials”
Kit<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">·
<!--[endif]-->Glow-in-the-dark erotic
dice<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br clear="all" />
We'll also include a $30 gift card and a Cabal of Hotness t-shirt. Wow! </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">All you have to do is leave a comment and your email in the comment section of this blog. That will give you an entry for the grand prize as well as one for my individual giveaway. Here's the Rafflecopter contest form for the Basket of Naughty!</span><br />
<a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/308aa4272/" id="rc-308aa4272" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js"></script>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And what is the giveaway prize on this site? A pair of handcrafted, St. Patrick's Day inspired lampwork-glass bead and Swarovski crystal earrings made just for this hop by me! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzir5G-4Q_GBm548jQIi9Bhpx3u02jYC6oYdyZPBhtMr6NldiiDJLvQbI-H1GFYx0vU_YvdqxJWpqiNgdCHB8M7xSIZoqdeNL1x8ZCWot3DyqcUAqlVM_tX-iptMNZ256qJjgwy1oWR0U/s1600/cocks+earrings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzir5G-4Q_GBm548jQIi9Bhpx3u02jYC6oYdyZPBhtMr6NldiiDJLvQbI-H1GFYx0vU_YvdqxJWpqiNgdCHB8M7xSIZoqdeNL1x8ZCWot3DyqcUAqlVM_tX-iptMNZ256qJjgwy1oWR0U/s200/cocks+earrings.jpg" width="173" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Note: If the selected winner is from somewhere other than the US, they will receive a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble gift card instead of the earrings unless they would like to pay for the shipping. If I send out the gift card, I will choose another winner (in the US, natch) to receive the earrings. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">You can increase your chances of winning my personal giveaway by using the Rafflecopter form below.</span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #274e13;">And the winner is...Joy! Joy chose the gift card, so I will pick another winner for the earrings.</span> </span><br />
<br />
<a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/405b7d7/" id="rc-405b7d7" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But here's the best part! You can enter at all the hop sites and increase your chance to win the Basket Full of Naughty. Just go to </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://closeencounterswiththenightkind.blogspot.com/2013/01/big-cocks-and-shamrocks-st-patricks-day.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Big Cocks and Shamrocks Giveaway Hop</span></a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">for all the sites. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<script src="//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js"></script>M.L. Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13841017038113904346noreply@blogger.com44tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3769378692811726296.post-37116320072978460522013-03-15T00:01:00.000-07:002013-03-20T07:05:39.439-07:00Lucky in Love Blog Hop<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGnl4nSqzB8V0uCnznOZgQzuxA4FDGdc9eGS-X0SW8T-epMkMCbViPGRy0Fql-9T3apEPkruQZMQ5FRUqrEhRDgyB8q5tgRQor4n7_qwiAU4i7vGmcTQijAn_XqlhSDGU9URJRe9plPWc/s1600/Lucky+in+Love.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGnl4nSqzB8V0uCnznOZgQzuxA4FDGdc9eGS-X0SW8T-epMkMCbViPGRy0Fql-9T3apEPkruQZMQ5FRUqrEhRDgyB8q5tgRQor4n7_qwiAU4i7vGmcTQijAn_XqlhSDGU9URJRe9plPWc/s200/Lucky+in+Love.jpg" width="155" /></a>Welcome to the Lucky in Love St. Patrick’s Day Blog Hop!</div>
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I have been incredibly lucky in love. I met my husband at the pre-opening gala of a
friend’s new restaurant. I had an
invite, he crashed the party. Everyone
else at the shindig seemed to be either married or gay, and as the only single,
straight people there, we ended up talking near the bar. He claims he was immediately attracted to me,
but what else is he going to say, “You looked like you were alone and I’d
struck out with all the other women I hit on?”
In any case, aside from the single and straight connection, we actually had
a lot in common — we were both graduate students, loved college basketball and
had strange senses of humor. A love
match! And had he not been there, I
probably never would have met him. We’ve
been married almost 23 years and I thank my friend every time I see her for
having the party. For me, that date is
more important than our actual wedding anniversary. The wedding was planned, but the night we met
was fate.</div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">~~~***~~~<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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Here’s the scoop on the fabulous hop — over 300 bloggers
have individual giveaways and posts about the men we love. Just leave a comment and your email in the
comments section of each blog and have a chance to win a prize. </div>
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That alone would be fantastic enough. But there are also <b>2 grand prize</b>s. Each time you comment and leave your email,
you are entered to win not only the individual blog’s giveaway, but also a</div>
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<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">$100 Amazon or Barnes and Noble gift
card <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">or a <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Giant Swag Pack <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Full of
bookmarks, paperbacks, eBooks and more!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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(Swag pack available only to entrants from the U.S.)</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <b><span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://carrieannbloghops.blogspot.com/p/lucky-in-love-hop.html" target="_blank">Click Here for a List of the Other 317 Bloggers</a></span></b></span></div>
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I’m giving away another hand-crafted pair of lampwork-glass bead earrings
designed and made by me especially for this blog hop! <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiuvR8Nx6KKBKqpdB3k5fHcWRmr9TAlJGUXTBNGSSFn-D0wUkiKPOPSepPysbJIADeBwAhgkWEr92CQSYiavAhwCwTsVMJ3bfzmC3fwef9MOgMDKmYhtRMRc6feZxDA0Kr8N9_pAxCMwQ/s1600/lucky+earrings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiuvR8Nx6KKBKqpdB3k5fHcWRmr9TAlJGUXTBNGSSFn-D0wUkiKPOPSepPysbJIADeBwAhgkWEr92CQSYiavAhwCwTsVMJ3bfzmC3fwef9MOgMDKmYhtRMRc6feZxDA0Kr8N9_pAxCMwQ/s1600/lucky+earrings.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #274e13;">And the winner of the earrings is...<b>Lysette</b>, from California!</span></div>
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You’ll get one entry for the gift card and swag pack when
you leave your comment and email here (or on the other hop sites), but for my
giveaway you can have extra entries by using the rafflecopter entries below. (If you live anywhere other than the US and you win my giveaway, you will receive a $10 Amazon gift card instead of the earrings unless you would like to foot the bill for shipping.)<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/405b7d6/" id="rc-405b7d6" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js"></script>M.L. Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13841017038113904346noreply@blogger.com38tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3769378692811726296.post-23923083966475584162013-03-13T14:48:00.003-07:002013-03-13T14:51:35.905-07:00Is BookRooster A Good Marketing Investment?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4yEVe3RwP1-1uhyphenhyphenSlu_d79VnLH4PYtcvlQ6caJOEnf-4h2da7qtAn9AGhpPtA1maG8TJ8HlyAsoD4nGBFd-XQkTUdXP-cQ9qpjjyk3Dz_p0GAYeBTC9oE8j93LISVgZhcBWaYCL3ht3M/s1600/fingers_funny_creativity_07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4yEVe3RwP1-1uhyphenhyphenSlu_d79VnLH4PYtcvlQ6caJOEnf-4h2da7qtAn9AGhpPtA1maG8TJ8HlyAsoD4nGBFd-XQkTUdXP-cQ9qpjjyk3Dz_p0GAYeBTC9oE8j93LISVgZhcBWaYCL3ht3M/s200/fingers_funny_creativity_07.jpg" width="198" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">I
decided to give</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> </span><a href="http://www.bookrooster.com/" style="font-family: Georgia, serif;" target="_blank"><span style="color: windowtext;">BookRooster</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">a try last month. For $67, they
guarantee at least 10 reviews from their list of over 3,000 reviewers. </span><br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">From
their website: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="background: white; border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">We charge an
administrative fee of $67 per book</span></strong><span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> to invite suitable
reviewers to review your book, to distribute your book to those who have agreed
to review it and to track to make sure at least ten reviews are submitted by
reviewers.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Georgia","serif";">They
don't guarantee favorable reviews, I figured it's an easier way of getting my
book in the hands of people who are willing to write a review. They may
like it, they may hate it, but at least I wouldn't have to send out a gazillion
more emails to potential reviewers, most of which will never respond. </span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br />
I paid my money, and within a couple of weeks, I started seeing reviews for<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0077ZJNRW" target="_blank"><span style="color: windowtext;">Special Offers</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>posted on Amazon. I think I
ended up with 12 reviews (it might have been more, it's hard to tell sometimes
if a reviewer got the book through BookRooster). All but one were very
complimentary. The not-so-good review gave Special Offers one star, but
explained why they hated it. That's fine; I don't expect everyone to like
the book and they had reasons why they wanted to blow their brains out after
they read it. I don't agree with the assessment, obviously, but they made their
case and that's all anyone can ask from a reviewer.</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br />
You might assume that the experiment was a success and I wouldn't hesitate to
pay another $67 to have the second book - Special Rewards - sent out to their
stable of eager reviewers. That would be the case if not for one glitch.
One of the reviewers posted a 4-star review, but some of the write-up was
obviously not for Special Offers. </span><span style="background: white; font-family: "inherit","serif";"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">"I received a copy of this book for review. very good
book, i read it in two sittings,(then got the book prior to it Spirit Binder. i
suggest that spirit binder should be read first.) the characters were
interesting and felt sort of real, or on the edge. I love scfi, romance,
intrique,mystery this book has it all."</span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Special
Offers<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>is</i><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>part sci-fi, part romance, part
mystery but Spirit Binder is neither the previous book in the series (Special
Offers is book one) nor did I write Spirit Binder. Okay, no biggie. Maybe
the reviewer just mixed something up, or was writing two reviews at the same
time, or had a temporary brain fart. </span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Georgia","serif";">I emailed
BookRooster, and asked if they could have the reviewer fix it, even if the
4-stars weren't meant for my book and I ended up with another low review.
</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Georgia","serif";">I never heard
back from them, and the review wasn't altered.</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Georgia","serif";">That lack of
follow up makes me hesitant to use their services again. If they can't be
bothered to respond to a concern, why should I fork out more money? It
wasn't like I was complaining about the 1-star review. I wasn't expecting
all fantastic, glowing comments. I wasn't paying for<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>good</i><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>reviews of Special Offers, I was
paying for<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>reviews <i>of Special Offers</i>.
And that review seems like it isn't for my book. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Georgia","serif";">For BookRooster to let such a blunder go without remedy indicates they aren't really paying too much attention to details. They take
your money, send out the book, maybe make sure you get at least 10 reviews and
that’s it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Technically, I suppose that’s all they say they’ll
do. Their Terms of Service state: </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<em><span style="background: white; border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">While we do our best to ensure that your book goes to
unbiased, competent reviewers, we are not liable for the content of any
customer review posted by a BookRooster.com reviewer, whether at Amazon.com or
elsewhere. Our liability to you for anything related to the services
BookRooster.com provides is limited to the service fee you pay us for our
services. </span></em><em><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">Please double check the formatting of your
ebook file before you send it.</span></em><span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Georgia","serif";">They’re not liable for the content, but shouldn’t they
encourage an obvious screw-up to be amended? And is doing their best include never answering their emails?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Georgia","serif";">That’s my story. Is BookRooster a good deal to get some unbiased reviews or just a guy's hands painted to look like a rooster? You
can decide if it’s worth the cash or not.</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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M.L. Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13841017038113904346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3769378692811726296.post-35458988774016179232013-03-01T11:52:00.000-07:002013-03-01T11:52:39.076-07:00Sequestration and Self-Publishing<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfcPT_KhAdbL9vrR5-8DYcYZ6UGJteXWBw2xDMKubCvAnbHkcRiEiSxjFaojL_ScM42iHFxqvgtPhS1FOCu_2BI6WT7THIx6Yx1Tg0Y4gxJNUpSyJtSfpknf_svWIaYux7G3hE7JMlEmU/s1600/images+(3)+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfcPT_KhAdbL9vrR5-8DYcYZ6UGJteXWBw2xDMKubCvAnbHkcRiEiSxjFaojL_ScM42iHFxqvgtPhS1FOCu_2BI6WT7THIx6Yx1Tg0Y4gxJNUpSyJtSfpknf_svWIaYux7G3hE7JMlEmU/s200/images+(3)+copy.jpg" width="136" /></a></div>
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Today is the day — barring some miraculous, last minute
complete personality shifts by everyone in the White House and Congress —
mandatory, across-the-board budget cuts will begin for pretty much everything
that the federal government funds. </div>
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I’m fairly certain the “sequester”, as it is called, will
occur because our elected officials have been so busy posturing and trying to
look tough, their chests are too puffed out to see the cluster fuck right in
front of them that will affect us all. Well,
except them. I’m betting that the folks
in Washington D.C. that came up with this idiocy and then did nothing to
prevent it aren’t going to feel the pinch. Federal employees will be forced to take
furlough — as much a day a week — which means their pay will be cut
accordingly. That will affect millions
of workers. Of course, a 20% pay cut is
way better than losing your job completely.
But their decrease in take-home pay will affect businesses because they
won’t spend as much. Which will mean
layoffs in all sorts of places. This
doesn’t take into account all the federally-funded programs that will suddenly
have less money. Some of these are, undoubtedly,
bloated and should be cut. But what about
those that are just making do with what they have now?</div>
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So what does this have to do with independent authors? For indies, the sequestration is both good
and bad. Those of us that very likely
will end up unemployed as a result of this madness will have all kinds of time
to write. Of course, no one will have
any discretionary money to buy books; they will have to prioritize and spend on
stuff like, you know, food. So
eventually there will be a glut of books (good) but no one to buy them
(bad). Or, another way to look at it is
there will be more people with a lot of free time — when they aren’t looking for work or standing
in the unemployment line — to read (good).
Unless there are no unemployment benefits because that has been cut
(bad). The only entity I see benefiting
is the Kindle Select Program. Everyone
will want free books, right?</div>
M.L. Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13841017038113904346noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3769378692811726296.post-58294088330271955052013-02-21T14:05:00.000-07:002013-02-21T14:09:43.890-07:00Bikers, Buyers and Books. Oh My!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifTwbr4E4RUY_QM7uQUX_8lV3gZ-QoP_9M6QUuZGoZOfPf2hdUvZoOduIYd_w-mWRlvEuyduGWs07XKjC7IbH9H3-sKVOJOMUSgkUR00WpUpwlT0ej6OyaidZ-4nSv0BeWYlTkT2NXg_4/s1600/biker+bookstore.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifTwbr4E4RUY_QM7uQUX_8lV3gZ-QoP_9M6QUuZGoZOfPf2hdUvZoOduIYd_w-mWRlvEuyduGWs07XKjC7IbH9H3-sKVOJOMUSgkUR00WpUpwlT0ej6OyaidZ-4nSv0BeWYlTkT2NXg_4/s320/biker+bookstore.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">A couple of days ago, I received a message on my <a href="http://www.facebook.com/CoursodonDimension" target="_blank">Facebook page</a> from an unlikely reader. The self-described "old bearded biker" wanted to let me know how much he enjoyed <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0077ZJNRW" target="_blank">Special Offers</a>. Definitely far afield from my usual reader demo-graphic. Nevertheless, this guy really enjoyed the book. And he liked it enough to plunk down more bucks for the sequel, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Special-Rewards-Coursodon-Dimension-ebook/dp/B00A7Z8WSK" target="_blank">Special Rewards</a>. I asked if he could post a review on Amazon, and he did. When he finished Special Rewards (the next day, in fact), he left another 5-star review:</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"I'm an old bearded biker who is not usually into reading romance novels. With that said, M.L.Ryan's books are not the usual romance novels. She blends romance, fantasy, and humor, (With a light touch of SF) into a funny/sexy tale that I could not put down. I enjoyed both Special Rewards and her first book, Special Offers so much that I read them each cover to cover in one sitting. I love a book that keeps you guessing the whole way through, and Ms. Ryan's books do that admirably. I came across these books by accident (was looking for Amazon special offers/discounts), and I'm very glad that I did. OK Ms. Ryan, get cracking on the next one!"</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">In the days since he posted, the sales for Special Offers have increased significantly. I have no definitive information that his reviews have made the difference, but I am clinging to the idea that all the new buyers are biker dudes! I'm hoping this means a whole new group of people will hear about my books. And maybe the word will spread to some other under appreciated bunch of readers, like Daughters of the American Revolution members who also enjoy paranormal fantasy or firefighters who get hot reading about a girl who can blow things up. Hey, the possibilities are endless.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">This is a perfect example of how leaving a review can make a difference to us fledgling indie authors. We all secretly hope that one day, some influential someone - you, know, like the book editor for the New York Times - will be randomly searching for a new read and come across our tome. Of course, they will be entranced with our masterpiece and write an article urging everyone to buy this little gem. A delusional scenario? Probably. But that's kind of what happened with my biker. I'm not saying his influence will be equivalent to that of a NYT book editor, but he is someone unexpected that feels passionate enough about what he just read to actually message an author to let her know. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">So remember - if you like it, review it! And authors like to hear from readers. It makes us feel as though someone (other than our loved ones who have to say nice things whether they mean it or not) appreciates all the hard work. </span></span></div>
M.L. Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13841017038113904346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3769378692811726296.post-81764683557600353562013-02-16T09:22:00.000-07:002013-02-16T09:22:01.640-07:00Why I Hate Valentine's Day<br />
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Now that Valentine’s Day is over, I wonder why everyone
finds participating in a made-up holiday to celebrate love so appealing? Is it because we are so deficient at showing
the ones we love how much we care on the other 364 days of the year that we
need a specific day to <i>force</i> us to do
something nice? Or are we so easily
manipulated that we feel we must join in the V-Day hysteria or our loved ones
will think we don’t care? And who really
benefits? Certainly not those who aren’t
in a relationship. For them, it can be
the most depressing day ever. Not one’s bank account or diets. Nothing says “I love you” like an over-priced,
four-pound box of chocolates in a heart-shaped box. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Sure, that warm, fuzzy feeling one gets from a well-chosen
gift can be wonderful. But the real
winners are the people who rake in our bucks selling jewelry, candy, cards, roses
and fancy meals out. They want to convince
us that the gifts are a reflection of how much we cherish or are
cherished. Which forces people to buy
said gifts so their loved ones won’t think they aren’t adored. Just because someone gives you something nice
on Valentine’s Day doesn’t necessarily mean they love you. It just means they are easily swayed by mass
marketing. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Rather than buy into (pun intended) the manufactured hype,
wouldn’t it make more sense to try to show your love all the time? Rub their tired feet, offer to do some chore
they despise. Indulge in that freaky sex
fantasy your love is always hinting at.
Look adoringly into their eyes and say, “I adore you,” and leave out the
“but if you don’t remember to pick up your socks, I’m going to smother you in
your sleep.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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See, it’s not so hard.
Let’s try and do something nice for those we care about every day and
make fabricated love days a thing of the past.<o:p></o:p></div>
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M.L. Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13841017038113904346noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3769378692811726296.post-707664314439109952013-02-07T22:00:00.000-07:002013-02-12T07:37:46.824-07:00Heartbreaker Blog Hop!!<br />
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<a href="http://carrieannbloghops.blogspot.com/p/heartbreaker-hop.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq1sCQcmJSfirf0QczJkDeSgL_ekip0upDfTyw5ccDJBllemPqBkV8MkD3Cv6GeZeuccxaVypk1xnj6n519Z1piVECpPg27PF2zW7soEM-kIOPSbB2LZMxpRyD_zmoigaHUjyw7qH2kwI/s1600/Heartbreaker+Button.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Heart breakers
come in two main categories: Those who devastate
you and don’t care and those who reduce you to a deflated shadow of your former
self but feel really bad about it. The
former deserves to rot in a vat of toxic effluvium throughout eternity. The latter probably should also be cursed
with the same fate, but for some reason we always want him to realize the error
of his ways and come on back for a happily-ever-after. That can happen in books because as
fictional characters, those bad boys usually have some altruistic reason
for dumping you on your ass. Like
preventing the world from being destroyed by an evil demoness who desires him
above all else. In real life, the dude
would leave you for a buxom bimbo he met waiting in line to pay the 27 parking
tickets he owes (she had 32, they have so much in common), but every once in a
while think that it would have been better to break up with you before you
walked in on them doing the lust and thrust in <i>your</i> bed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">You have probably figured out that I don’t like heart breakers much. My heroes are faithful and devoted. Sort of like a dog, but a lot less
hairy. And they almost never lick their own
butts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.coursodondimension.com/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDPRk7ap4dKEp9f7XdR_0nmr4YrjaCrBFwHjroLv1KPSCvZ8ZeVB5KDCmmpRcsuL8GwZIEChzX-iehcNXhC-YAtMkprNv75p0wZEwEVH0EcmyvxsTFh65_fK7Ux4yEwljYfIyKpG1YS3w/s1600/new+fbpage+profile.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyway, as
long as you are here, check out </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0077ZJNRW" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Special
Offers</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Special-Rewards-Coursodon-Dimension-ebook/dp/B00A7Z8WSK" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Special
Rewards</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, the first two books of the Coursodon Dimension Series. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The series follows Hailey, a woman who is
possessed by a supernatural being from another dimension who was previously
trapped in her Kindle. It’s fantasy,
paranormal and sci-fi with a bit of romance and a lot of humor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Now, onto the
<a href="http://carrieannbloghops.blogspot.com/p/heartbreaker-hop.html" target="_blank">Heartbreaker Blog Hop</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Over 300 bloggers have giveaways and posts
about those men we love (or love to hate)! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">But that's not all....<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
We have <b>THREE </b>grand prizes. You can go to EACH blog and comment with
your email address and be entered to win. Yep, you can enter over 300 times!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Now what are those
prizes?</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">1st
Grand Prize: A Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">2nd Grand Prize: A $100 Amazon or B&N Gift Card</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">3rd Grand Prize </span></b><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">(available only to US residents)</span></b><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">: A Swag Pack that contains paperbacks, ebooks, 50+
bookmarks, cover flats, magnets, pens, coffee cozies, and more! </span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">You’re
thinking, could this get any better? Of
course! Each blogger also has their own
giveaway. By leaving a comment and your
email, you are also entered to win individual prizes!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_lxbVUFIkBFgMrYIuu0BZwYfoviUfXI9Y7HnTYWN7c_yUeSPC1tBpyYWsx_usD7CMRUKYwStC8KxWtz5a9V1OoLihpwusSI1CjhPEqSaLMqZF1s6ru5A8oVV8yzVExKDKw_AT2Hvuxmg/s1600/hbblog+earrings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_lxbVUFIkBFgMrYIuu0BZwYfoviUfXI9Y7HnTYWN7c_yUeSPC1tBpyYWsx_usD7CMRUKYwStC8KxWtz5a9V1OoLihpwusSI1CjhPEqSaLMqZF1s6ru5A8oVV8yzVExKDKw_AT2Hvuxmg/s200/hbblog+earrings.jpg" width="149" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><b></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><b><b style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></b></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><b><b style="font-size: 11pt;">My
giveaway is an awesome pair of Smokey Topaz, freshwater pearl and silver beaded earrings designed and created by me! </b></b></span><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">(Note: The extra entries provided in my Rafflecopter contest below apply only to the earrings. Each time you leave a comment and your email on a blog, you get one entry for the grand prizes. Also, the earrings can only be mailed to a US winner. If you are from outside the US and are the chosen winner, you will receive a $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble gift card instead.)</span></div>
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<b>And the winner is...</b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><u>*****Shannon Bereza*****</u></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Now go to</b> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://carrieannbloghops.blogspot.com/p/heartbreaker-hop.html" target="_blank">Heartbreaker Blog Hop</a> </b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>to find links to the other </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>302 bloggers participating in this hop.</b></span></div>
M.L. Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13841017038113904346noreply@blogger.com41tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3769378692811726296.post-49908249664384175742013-01-31T00:05:00.000-07:002013-01-31T00:05:00.087-07:00<br />
<div style="color: #5b616a; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Julie DeMay dreamed of being a published author, and in 2011 her first book was released — two years after she lost her battle with cervical cancer.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://selfpublishingteam.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/julie.jpg" rel="wp-prettyPhoto[g6939]" style="color: #28a9c9; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><img alt="julie" class="alignright size-full wp-image-6910" height="147" src="http://selfpublishingteam.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/julie.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(236, 248, 251); display: inline; float: right; height: auto; margin: 0px 0px 20px 25px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px;" width="220" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Julie DeMay</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cell-War-Notebooks-Journey-Cervical/dp/1453764267" target="_blank"><b>Cell War Notebooks</b></a></em> is a compilation of the <a href="http://cellwarnotebooks.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><b>blog</b></a> Julie kept during the last seven months of her life — it’s beautiful, funny, brave and truly inspirational for anyone, whether you’ve been through cancer or not. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Today, independent authors are banding together to help promote her book. Anyone who has marketed their own work knows how difficult it is under the best of circumstances, but Julie can't promote her work anymore. All proceeds will go to her 9-year-old daughter, Luka. </span></div>
<div style="color: #5b616a; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 25px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">What can you do? Spread the word, tweet about the book and this courageous woman, buy Cell War Notebooks. It's a small price to pay to help a little girl who is trying to navigate the world without her mother. Plus, you get to help make Julie's dream come true (or truer).</span></div>
M.L. Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13841017038113904346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3769378692811726296.post-48754650241355398622013-01-27T08:26:00.000-07:002013-01-27T08:26:25.188-07:00Six Sentence SundayIt's here. The last ever Six Sentence Sunday. I haven't been participating for all that long, but I appreciate the time and effort of the founders for this great idea!<br />
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Today's snippet is from Special Offers, book one of the Coursodon Dimension Series. Hailey becomes "possessed" by Sebastian, who was previously trapped in her Kindle. Alex finds a way to communicate with Sebastian and then explains to Hailey how she ended up with a bodymate.<br />
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>"He encrypted his essence into
binary code and then intended to broadcast himself into his laptop, which was
on and in the room. He predicted that
his spiritual being would remain intact and protected there until he could be
reunited with his corporeal self. <span style="line-height: 115%;">Unfortunately, he believes that
during the melee with Kashanian the computer was damaged and was no longer receiving
data.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">There was a warehouse nearby, one
which he assumes must have been a Kindle manufacturing site. </span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">Luckily for Sebastian, someone must have been
testing the wireless capabilities of one just as he became disembodied, and he
was intercepted by this,” he declared as he dramatically picked up my Kindle. </span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">He looked at the eBook reader with both wonder
and admiration and whispered, “He did it; </span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> t</span><span style="line-height: 115%;">hat crazy bastard actually did it.”</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Thanks for stopping by. Please check out <a href="http://www.sixsunday.com/" target="_blank">Six Sentence Sunday</a> for links to all the other sixes!</span></span></div>
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M.L. Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13841017038113904346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3769378692811726296.post-2866493037193294442013-01-20T09:03:00.000-07:002013-01-20T09:03:12.614-07:00Six Sentence Sunday<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Today's snippet comes from Special Rewards. Here's the set up: Hailey often has somewhat unusual dreams. This one started out at her graduation ceremony, but changed - as weird dreams often do - to something involving her best friend, Rachel.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">~~~~****~~~~</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>As I was handed my diploma, the scene
morphed. I was now in a dark, windowless
room. Through the shadows, I could just
make out Rachel, who was shackled to a conveyer-belt connected to an airport
screening device. She was naked except
for three tiny mortarboards that covered her privates like a bizarre, geometric
stripper’s outfit. I heard a voice at the
far side of the room; Sebastian was describing, in excruciating detail, how he
planned to make certain she wasn’t sneaking more than three ounces of liquid in
her carry-on. </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">~~~~****~~~~</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thanks for stopping by! Check out all the other links at <a href="http://sixsunday.com/" target="_blank"><b>Six Sentence Sunday</b></a>. </span></span></div>
M.L. Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13841017038113904346noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3769378692811726296.post-86348576476695708052013-01-16T03:30:00.000-07:002013-01-16T03:30:01.090-07:00The Next Big Thing!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaof-eL7lcyaQAbXeXpuwK_dA-MqUL4yxguw0wbOIDMIrqV07ROMw0WZ966a7gb6oStn6up-Uv3Wqc2coy8WOXd5xKqunjmnmxbkbnDSkNc0epm8EH7sDsKGYO8RuzI8ukwinHfqoSppY/s1600/blog-hop.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaof-eL7lcyaQAbXeXpuwK_dA-MqUL4yxguw0wbOIDMIrqV07ROMw0WZ966a7gb6oStn6up-Uv3Wqc2coy8WOXd5xKqunjmnmxbkbnDSkNc0epm8EH7sDsKGYO8RuzI8ukwinHfqoSppY/s200/blog-hop.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b>Welcome
to the NEXT BIG THING Blog Hop!</b></span></div>
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<br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">What
is a blog hop? It’s a way for readers to discover </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">new </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">authors. I hope you'll find new-to-you authors whose works you enjoy. On this
stop on the blog hop, you'll find a bit of information about me and one of my books
along with links to five other authors you can explore.</span></div>
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<br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">My
gratitude to fellow author, </span><b style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Adrienne deWolfe</b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">, for inviting me to participate in
this event. You can click the following links to learn more about Adrienne and
her books.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Her Next Big Thing: <a href="http://writingnovelsthatsell.com/blog-hop-for-authors/2013/01/" target="_blank">http://writingnovelsthatsell.com/blog-hop-for-authors/2013/01/</a></span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Her Website: <a href="http://kathycarmichael.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">http://WritingNovelsThatSell.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Her
books: <a href="http://goog_2061386272/" target="_blank">http://</a><a href="http://ebookdiscovery.com/AdrienneDeWolfe.html" target="_blank">ebookdiscovery.com/AdrienneDeWolfe.html</a> </span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">In
this blog hop, my fellow authors and I, in our respective blogs, have answered 10 questions about our current book or work-in-progress. We've also included some behind-the-scenes information about how and why
we write what we write--the characters, inspirations, plotting and other choices
we make.</span><br />
<br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Please
feel free to comment and share your thoughts and questions. Here is my Next Big
Thing!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqAInQ306CzfTy5l0CGNVVHwJqEUNmnEwCJd7KsLkoWcqSQ8_qi5xeonXL_cYDizRoPNZbEoM8NXmwN4EfJfBpVAhECdnM16GxdTpz4uX1f07Rs17Oe9k4AeQIhmVqU-uBiSjhaM6GC-0/s1600/redone+cover+3b+200x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqAInQ306CzfTy5l0CGNVVHwJqEUNmnEwCJd7KsLkoWcqSQ8_qi5xeonXL_cYDizRoPNZbEoM8NXmwN4EfJfBpVAhECdnM16GxdTpz4uX1f07Rs17Oe9k4AeQIhmVqU-uBiSjhaM6GC-0/s1600/redone+cover+3b+200x300.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #073763;"><u>1. What is the title of your book?</u> </span><span style="color: #222222;"> The title is Special Offers, the first book in the Coursodon DImension Series<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: #073763;"><u>
2. Where did the idea come from for the series?</u></span><span style="color: #222222;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had just purchased my full-priced Kindle when I saw Amazon was
selling less expensive versions that came with “special offers.” I thought what if the Kindles were cheaper because
they came with some fiendish spirit?
Originally, I imagined something like a havoc - wreaking poltergeist,
but that quickly changed into the annoying, yet ingratiating Sebastian Kess. </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><b>The first book - Special Offers - introduces Hailey Parrish, a 30 year-old divorcee who milks chinchilla for a living and hadn't had a date in three years. She only wanted an eBook reader because her collection of paperbacks threatened to take over her small living space. Little did she know that the "special offers" that prompted her purchase included much more than just a reduced price in exchange for a few ads. The device came pre-loaded with the essence of Sebastian Kess, an erudite womanizer with magical abilities from a parallel dimension. When she inadvertently releases him and he inhabits her body, she finally has a man inside her, just not in the way she imagined. Hailey must come to grips with the existence of Coursodon, the parallel dimension, and the realization that magical non-humans walk the world all while dealing with Sebastian's annoying banter in her head. Her predicament also introduces her to another supernatural, the handsome could-be-the-man-of-her-dreams Alex Sunderland. The action moves from Hailey's hometown of Tucson, Arizona to New Hampshire and across Europe as she and Alex try to return Sebastian to his own body while staying one step ahead of the criminals that want to keep him right where he is.</b></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #073763;"><u>3. What is the genre of your book? </u></span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> It’s Urban Fantasy/Paranormal
with some romance and an occasional steamy scene or two. I think it’s a little difficult to place the
series completely in a specific genre—it has aspects of the paranormal, fantasy
and a lot of humor.</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisos8hkDK8VZ1UwvReYuIxIuwm3Kx1mkQmeo93-iMdu6-em0HfNkMI_Ag2vv-PVAwFYH_E73qB-iH6Fjmot3ViutQVxTom_oDB91RFjRkwnomjSKggU36lC40ExCgOcvV74UXHf6J6FfU/s1600/characters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="92" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisos8hkDK8VZ1UwvReYuIxIuwm3Kx1mkQmeo93-iMdu6-em0HfNkMI_Ag2vv-PVAwFYH_E73qB-iH6Fjmot3ViutQVxTom_oDB91RFjRkwnomjSKggU36lC40ExCgOcvV74UXHf6J6FfU/s320/characters.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><span style="color: #073763;"><u>4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? </u></span><span style="color: #222222;"> Yikes! That’s tough. I think every reader should
determine what characters look like based on their own imagination and I am a
little hesitant to influence anyone with my ideas. However, if I had to pick actors to bring the
characters to life on the big screen I’d choose Mila Kunis for Hailey, Alexander
Skarsgard for Alex and John Stamos for Sebastian. But none of them are exactly what I picture for the characters.</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></b></span>
<b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #073763;"><u>5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your series?</u></span><span style="color: #222222;"> It’s
about a woman who is possessed by a supernatural being from another dimension
who was previously trapped in her Kindle eBook reader.</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>
<br /><span style="color: #073763;"><u>
6. Is your book self-published, published by an independent publisher, or
represented by an agency? </u></span><span style="color: #222222;"> All my books are self-published.</span><br />
<br /><span style="color: #073763;"><u>
7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?</u></span><span style="color: #222222;"> Each
book has taken about six months from start to finish. Unfortunately, I have to split my writing
time with my day job, so it takes longer than it might if I could focus only on
the writing. I try to write something, even if it is just a paragraph, every day.</span><br />
<br /><span style="color: #073763;"><u>
8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?</u></span><span style="color: #222222;"> People
have compared my work to Rose Pressey’s, probably because of the humor. But I don’t think there are any books quite
like this series.</span></b><br />
<br /><b><span style="color: #073763;"><u>
9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?</u></span><span style="color: #222222;"> I've always made up stories and I finally decided to free up some space in my brain by letting some of them out and writing them down.</span><br />
<br /><span style="color: #073763;"><u>
10. What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?</u></span><span style="color: #222222;"> This is the best review quote I've ever received:</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>"Do you enjoy romance with a paranormal twist with a splash of humor that will make you snort Pepsi out of your nose if you take a drink at the wrong moment? Then this book is for you."</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>My writing made someone snort a beverage out their nose!!</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #222222;"><b>~~~~****~~~~~</b></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Below
you will find authors who will be joining me virtually, via blog, next
Wednesday. Please be sure to bookmark their sites, and add them to your
calendars for updates on their upcoming books! Happy Writing and
Reading!</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;" /><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">1<span style="color: #222222;">.</span><span style="color: #222222;"> Thianna D </span><span style="color: blue;"> <a href="http://www.thiadesigns.com/" target="_blank">Author of Erotic Romance</a></span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: #222222;">2. Christine Steendam </span><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://chrissteen.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Romance Author</a></span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: #222222;">3. Amber Lea Easton </span><span style="color: blue;"> <a href="http://amberleaeaston.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Mysteries/Thrillers</a></span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: #222222;">4. Andrea Goodson </span><span style="color: blue;"> <a href="http://andreagoodson.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Author of Romantic Suspence</a></span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: #222222;">5. Cygnet Brown </span><a href="http://cygnetswriteapproach.blogspot.com/" target=""><span style="color: blue;">Author of Historical Romance</span></a></span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
M.L. Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13841017038113904346noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3769378692811726296.post-81503089613572611402013-01-13T02:00:00.000-07:002013-01-13T02:00:05.059-07:00Six Sentence Sunday!Welcome back for another Six Sentence Sunday. Today's snippet once again comes from the second book of the Coursodon Dimension Series,<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Special-Rewards-Coursodon-Dimension-ebook/dp/B00A7Z8WSK" target="_blank"> <b>Special Rewards</b></a>.<br />
<br />
Hailey's mother, worried that her daughter's spiritual life is lacking, sends Walter to help her "see the light". Walter and Hailey went to high school together and even though he is now a preacher, he spent a lot of time in high school spying on the girls locker room. Needless to say, she doesn't want to have anything to do with him. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">She has to think fast and come up with something that would both get him
immediately out of her house and discourage him from future visits.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> So, she makes up a religion.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: X-NONE;"> </span><div>
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<span style="line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">~~~~****~~~~</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>“Walter, whatever
my mother may have told you, I am not in need of saving, reprogramming or any
other religious instruction. I’m now
a Reformed Copacetic and I’m very happy with their teachings.”<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>“I’m not familiar with that denomination,”
he muttered.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>“Really?”, I said as I guided him toward the door. “Our most sacred tenet is that we can only
associate with other Copacetics, so I’m going to have to insist that you leave. You wouldn’t want to get me in trouble, would you?”</b></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">~~~~****~~~~</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Check out all the other sixes at <b><a href="http://sixsunday.com/" target="_blank">Six Sentence Sunday</a></b>!</span></div>
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M.L. Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13841017038113904346noreply@blogger.com1