Tuesday 31 January 2012

Bargain Picks of the Day: 31 January 2012

Today we have three Amazon Kindle edition Bargain Picks of the Day--all listed for $0.99.  They are:

A Perfect Flood by Luke Geraghty



BOOK DESCRIPTION
British aid worker Eve Cavill has been kidnapped in Venezuela. Tortured within an inch of her life, Eve's mind drifts to the days and weeks before her capture - from the skyscrapers of Canary Wharf to quake-stricken Haiti and a love she's tried desperately to escape. For Eve hides a terrible secret. One that may yet prove her salvation...or her ruining.


A gritty twentysomething novel with a slick comic edge, A Perfect Flood is an intimate portrayal of a woman's psyche forced to the brink.


Apolo Drakuvich by G.W. Jefferies



BOOK DESCRIPTION
Apolo Drakuvich captures the life of a petty criminal on a strange ride ranging from bizarre and senseless to utterly tragic. Revolving around parasitic journalism, media and government corruption, and a ruthless, conniving judge who milks the citizens out of millions of dollars, Apolo Drakuvich can be described as a compilation of untamed and sheer madness--captivating the readers' attention from beginning to end. With its raw descriptions, penetrating dialogue and crisp writing, this book is like no other. 


Within all the madness that so epitomizes the life of Apolo, G.W. Jeffries presents a life of regret in epic proportions. Sitting in a jail cell, Apolo reflects, "One thing is for sure, I let it all slip away...so many opportunities lost." Apolo sadly examines the events and decisions of his life, and the paths he took and should have taken. Apolo seeks peace of mind and justice, but flashbacks of his past continuously haunt him; moreover, he seems to be victimized by a corrupt justice system everywhere he goes. As an offender, Apolo discusses pertinent issues of today's society, where it is next to impossible for offenders to live normal lives, despite the desire to do so. Essentially, law enforcement and authorities seem to systematically destroy the offender by placing constraints on the offender such as restrictions on where to live, GPS monitoring, registering as offenders on websites, and more. 




10 Good Reasons to Lie about Your Age by Stephanie Zia



BOOK DESCRIPTION
Sally Lightfoot's busy, comfortable life as a session singer and studio manager finishes when her producer husband is killed in an accident. A year on, Sally is as miserable as the day he died and can't sing a note. Her old glam rock backup singing partner pooh pooh's her self-help book advice. Forget gardening and getting a dog, Sally's only 50. She must get out there and lose her 'wididity', her born-again virginity, before it's too late. 

Freebie Pick of the Day: Where Secrets Lie by Donna Marie Lanheady

Today's Amazon Kindle edition Freebie Pick of the Day is Where Secrets Lie by Donna Marie Lanheady.  Why not check it out?


BOOK DESCRIPTION
Where Secrets Lie is an exploration of one family's reliance on secrets, how those secrets affect their relationships and alter the directions their lives take, and where those secrets all began. 


Sara is the older of two sisters. Her marriage is in trouble, and she only has herself to blame. Everyday Sara takes a birth control pill even though she and her husband, David, are trying to have a baby. When David finds the pills and confronts her with them, Sara must face her own unresolved guilt about a pregnancy David knows nothing about.


Katie is Sara's younger sister. Her girlfriend, Emily, is tired of pretending they are just roommates whenever they are around Katie's parents. After all, they are candid about living together as a couple with everyone else. Enough is enough. Problem is, Katie cannot muster up enough courage to defy her mother's behavioral boundaries. That is, at least, not openly.


Sara and Katie's mother, Lee, spends her life deploying secrets in order to protect her loved ones not only from difficult truths, but also from the prejudices they elicit. In spite of the torment her own secret laden past causes her, Lee raises her daughters to repress inconvenient truths.


Set in Colorado, Where Secrets Lie shifts between the unique foothills community of Boulder, the mile high city of Denver, and the majestic Rocky Mountains as it moves from the sisters' stories to their mother's story weaving them all together and merging each woman's past with her present circumstances.

New Freebie Title: Two Days Only!

A new Kindle edition book from Christine Sutton, All the Little Children, is FREE for the next two days on Amazon.  Why not check it out?


BOOK DESCRIPTION
Ben and Cara Barlow move into a beautiful Connecticut Victorian home to start the next phase of their lives together. They are thrilled with the home's beauty, location and price, so they move in right away. When strange things start to happen to Cara, Ben tries his hardest to be supportive. They call in a team of paranormal investigators, and the home's grisly history, and occupants, past and present, engage in a battle to the death. Will Ben and Cara reclaim their dream house, or will the evil within those walls take everything, including their souls? A short novella at approximately 20,000 words.

Monday 30 January 2012

BOOK OF THE DAY: Bleedover by Curtis Hox

Today's Book of the Day is BLEEDOVER by Curtis Hox


This is a great book and we will soon be posting a review.  Check it out!

Winners of M.R. Mathias give away!

The winners of the M.R. Mathias Kindle edition Confliction Compendium give away have been drawn.



These are:


Nissie
Anthony
Tim Gatewood
Dell
PMK
...and once he qualifies by becoming a Blog follower, Carl E. Wilde.


I have written to all of you for whom profile contact details are listed for an email address to which to send the gift copy.  If your contact details are not listed in your profile, please contact me at flurriesofwords@yahoo.co.uk with those details.


I hope you enjoy this wonderful collection.


Thank you very much to everyone who entered!

M.R. Mathias Interview Part III

M.R. Mathias is the best-selling author of the Dragoneers Saga and The Wardstone Trilogy as well as a number of other stand-alone works. Flurries of Words (FLOW) sat down with him for a virtual but forthright chat about what influenced his writing and works as well as his current interests and plans for the future. What follows is the third and final installment of  our interview with this wonderfully talented author. 




FLOW:  It sounds like you had a lot of time to use your imagination. Is that why your writing predominantly focused on fantasy rather than other genres? Was it escapism or did you always know it was something more?
  
M.R. MATHIAS:  I would like to write a definitive masterpiece of fantasy. I have it brewing in the back of my mind. It will be called Harthgar and be a standalone novel of about a thousand pages. And if you have read any of my series, you will have heard of that distant place. It is a fantastic city/continent, but only mentioned vaguely. I am sort of planting the seed for it in my readers now...lol that’s what convicts do. We think ahead. Way ahead.

FLOW:  How far ahead? Is it akin to the lifetime work of the Tolkein universe or something a little less consuming?

M.R. MATHIAS:  Far less consuming. It will come easy or I will write something that does instead.  I hate struggling to write. Luckily I have found inspiration when needed and usually my steady work ethic carries me through. Harthgar won’t be a reality for several years, but it’s a story that I think will have to be freed from my mind.

FLOW:  Thinking ahead like that has lots of practical advantages. How does this ability help you with your writing?

M.R. MATHIAS:  When I wrote the Wardstone Trilogy I had never heard of a Kindle or an eReader. I think that’s why people like it. It’s pure. I wrote it for my sanity and published it so my mom and dad could be proud again. People respect that. Its real. The thought of success and making money as an author had no part of the process.



FLOW:  Have you been able to hold onto that outlook or has being on the outside and having to earn a living changed things?

M.R. MATHIAS:   I write for a living now. I have published 16 titles in less than two years. My work ethic speaks for itself. I try very hard to stay on top of things and keep my own rigid deadlines. Few people who get into self-publishing haven't heard of me. That is because I am serious about what I do, and as my own publisher I try to do a good job of putting my name and work out there.

FLOW:  One of your novels, The Butcher’s Boy, is a complete departure from much of your other work. What inspired you to write this? Do you have any plans to write anything else in this genre?




M.R. MATHIAS:  I think I may have covered this already. I love writing real life people in our time. I will write more stuff like The Butcher's Boy. Maybe less horror and more mystery/thriller, but who knows.

FLOW:  Looking forward to seeing it!  Meanwhile, you have been putting together Dragon Poem anthologies for charity. Could you tell us how this came about, the charity itself and what inspired you to champion it?

M.R. MATHIAS:  One year I won three thousand dollars in a poker tournament in New Orleans. It was just before the holidays and my mom had been researching charities that actually use the donated funds for charity. She suggested I donate, as a way to keep my karma good, to smiletrain.org and I donated. It is one of the best donation direct to purpose charities out there. The idea that those kids have no smile is appalling to me. There are other charities that need money, and some closer to home, but those kids are helpless and a smile is such a terrible thing to have to live without. Anyone who reads this should write a silly dragon poem, and more importantly, put the anthology on your kindle. The first anthology made less than $100 last year and one cleft reparation operation is $250. I donated the rest of the money, and will do so every year until the anthologies start making enough. L.M. Stull, author of A Thirty Something Girl, is a fantastic person. She hosts and does the judging. I sponsor the event and make sure (upfront) that a surgery is paid for.

FLOW:  What a marvelous charity and way to raise money for it. If it is an open competition, where should people submit their dragon poems?


 FLOW:  It sounds to me like you are more than ‘repaying your debt to society’ and could really be an inspiration to both prisoners and former prisoners alike. Have you ever thought about giving talks either in prisons or for former prisoners re-entering society? Is that something that would interest you? Donating your books to prison libraries?

M.R. MATHIAS:  I've thought about it. But the idea of going back to a prison, even as a speaker sickens me. I might start speaking to addicts, and people who have been newly released. I also have an idea for an inmate reading program that Amazon and Createspace, as well as many of the great indie authors could benefit from. It’s still forming in my head though and might come to fruition after Wardstone III is on the shelves. 

FLOW:  So who is Mr. Stubbs and why is he so irreverent on Twitter?

M.R. MATHIAS:  Mr. Stubbs is a blue eyed charmer with a potty mouth and people seem to love him. Someone even made a Mr. Stubbs fan club with t-shirts. He's just my dog. He is real popular with my younger cousins and one day I opened up a Twitter account for him. He tweets stuff for dogs and funny stuff. The idea is to cause a smile or get a laugh. Also to promote stuff like Dragon Poems, or new releases from fellow authors. Sales of certain books, reviews too. He tweets things like: "I can lick my own nuts. What can you do?" You would be surprised at the thousands of twitter responses his tweets get. It takes hours to go through them, and I had to stop responding just to be fair. Never-the-less his following has grown into five figures now I think. He's a popular dog. If he would quit eating my shoes while I'm out he might get a milk bone.

FLOW:  Sounds like a great dog! J Thank you very much for giving us such wonderful insight into your work and plans for the future. Is there anything else you would like to add?

M.R. MATHIAS:   Yes, Write a poem about dragons and enter the contest linked above. Buy the anthologies and tell a friend. It’s just a buck and a child with a broken smile gets the profit. Thanks for the interview. It was my pleasure answering your questions.

Freebie Picks of the Day: 30 January 2012

We have several Amazon Kindle edition Freebie Picks of the Day today.  These are:

A Covert War by Michael Parker


BOOK DESCRIPTION
Marcus Blake's ramshackle security agency has no clients to speak of until Susan Ellis walks into his office and asks him to help find her brother who has gone missing in Afghanistan. In that moment, Marcus' world is turned upside down and he is plunged into a covert war where arms and drugs are traded by renegades within the CIA. Now, in his quest to find Susan's brother, Marcus faces terror and betrayal in a murky world where one cannot easily tell a friend from a foe.

The Saints Go Dying by Erik Hanberg



BOOK DESCRIPTION
Arthur Beautyman, a computer hacker turned detective, is hunting a serial killer targeting modern day saints. Against him is an unscrupulous reality TV show and a member of his own department, who doesn't know the hacker she's tailing is in the office next door. It's a deadly cat-and-mouse game set against the lights of Hollywood.

Teleport This by Christopher M. Daniels



BOOK DESCRIPTION
Teleport This is a fast paced, comedy adventure that is out of this world - literally. It's science fiction without the extra heavy baggage found in hardcore space operas or the ultra-wackiness found in satirical sci-fi novels. An enjoyable read not only for sci-fi fans, but for anyone that likes witty dialogue and interesting characters coupled with an absorbing storyline."Not only is your entire premise beyond belief, but not even you would be presumptuous enough to contact extraterrestrial life as the sole representative of all mankind.""Sure, I already did. They sent me an application starter kit."And with that, Simon and Gilbert, two terrestrial physicists, leave Earth and stumble into and across a larger universe. Fortunately, they brought along enough tequila to help them through their strategy sessions which become more and more necessary as they get tangled up with a wide assortment of extraterrestrial characters and fall head first into intergalactic trouble. Good thing for them someone had the foresight to invent artificial gravity. 

Why not check them out?

Bargain Picks of the Day: 30 January 2012

Our Amazon Kindle edition Bargain Picks of the Day are:


Finding the Flower Girl by Eugene Cusie


BOOK DESCRIPTION
I thought I was completely alone when I awoke in a hospital. No nurses or doctors. No family around my bed. I didn't know what they would look like had they been there. In fact I didn't know who I was let alone who I belonged to. Was this Hell or even, Heaven? I needed answers, the only thing I could seem to recall was being shot which would explain why I was in the hospital but not the rest of this mystery which was soon to unravel. Small clues and new, unlikely acquaintances slowly help me to realize that maybe the mystery had nothing to do with me. Maybe it had everything to do with the children that I was meeting in this nearly vacant town. They told me awful stories of how there young lives had ended. Now I was no longer looking for answer for myself but rather, answers for these young victims. The most memorable of the lot, a young girl wearing a dress covered in flowers that seemed to be leading me closer and closer to the final puzzle piece.




Angel of Death:  Book One of the Chosen Chronicles by Karen Dales




BOOK DESCRIPTION
Winner of the Siren Books Award for Best Horror 2010 and the Siren Books Award for Best Overall 2010. The Vampires of London are being murdered and only the Angel of Death can save them.The Angel of Death has traversed the earth for over a thousand years, reaping souls, both foe and friend. His only traveling partner through the ages is his beloved mentor, Father Paul Notus.When Father Notus is captured and threatened with a gruesome death by the Mistress of London and her Vampires, the Angel is forced into a dark world of murder and deception to discover who is killing the Vampires of Britain.Coerced into a partnership with the Noble Fernando de Sagres, a Vampire of sadistic tastes, and joined by the beautiful and mortal Jeanie Stuart, the Angel seeks to uncover who is behind the genocide.Plagued by demons from his past and his increasing affections for Jeanie, the Angel walks a fine line between his heart and his fears. He discovers the culprits but at a high cost – the irrevocable discovery of what he truly is and the Destruction of one he loves. 

WEDNESDAY WORDS: Interview with M.R. Mathias



M.R. Mathias is the best-selling author of the Dragoneers Saga and The Wardstone Trilogy as well as a number of other stand-alone works.  Flurries of Words (FLOW) sat down with him for a virtual but forthright chat about what influenced his writing and works as well as his current interests and plans for the future.  What follows is the first of a three-part series of installments of our interview with this wonderfully talented author.



FLOW:  From your previous interviews, I see that your time in prison shaped you as an author. How has that experience influenced your storylines, if at all? Shaped your characters?

M.R. MATHIAS:  I tend to think about life from a different angle than most people who have never done time. I suppose it rubs off in my characters. I think the idea that a good character has no bad traits and vice-versa is too prevalent in modern fiction. That evil wizard might have a daughter he loves. And that righteous King no doubt has a mistress. No one is perfect, and most bad people have a good side. I just try to keep things real. Prison taught me that.

FLOW:  That sounds like a very practical but unusual worldview. Can you give us a favorite example from one of your books on how this outlook changes the plot or characterization from what you might typically see, particularly in the fantasy genre?

M.R. MATHIAS:   I'll give an example of someone in fantasy doing what I mean. Where most other heroes are quite noble, honest, and righteous, (Hobbits, Rand, Pug,) Sir Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever, the hero of Lord Foul's Bane, was a leper, and a rapist. How's that for an imperfect hero.

In the Wardstone Trilogy, Pael is the best example. He is an evil scheming monster of a wizard, but he is doing all these things for the daughter he fathered. Not until he is overcome with demon lust does he get off that track and start his insane campaign across the kingdoms. 

FLOW:  How much did you base your characters on the people you encountered in prison? The relationships that unfolded there?

M.R. MATHIAS:  In The Butcher's Boy, I based Oliver on several people I've encountered. Myself included. He has addiction issues and is as weak as any addict at times. I tried to show how his will was true in his desire to stay clean, while the temptations of the world are mighty.



Some of my hard edged fantasy characters are based on the violent guys I did time with. Prison was a wild place. I fought often and have firsthand experience with facing men with steel in their hands. I ended up in solitary because of the fights. I think that was probably the best thing that ever happened to me. I started writing there in my empty cell. It seems strange, because it may have been the worst thing to ever happen too.

FLOW:  Having experienced combat first-hand, how did your real-life fights influence your writing of fictional skirmishes?

M.R. MATHIAS:   I learned that fights are usually very fast and decisive. I was stabbed in the face once. The guy's shank got stuck between my upper teeth. That fight caused my first stint in solitary. I learned that I am no coward that day. I was 19 years old and I won that fight with a homemade knife sticking out of my face. I learned that most knife wounds are not fatal, and long drawn out fights are rare, save for Hollywood, and boxing. Men, in prison anyway, don’t want to die, so they are savage and destructive. It's survival in there, because the guards are not always willing to step in. I saw a man bleed to death while even the guy who stabbed him pleaded with the guards to come in and help. They wouldn't because they were afraid.

I LOVED writing the "Brawl" scene with Lord Gregory and the Seaward fighter in The Sword and the Dragon. It was a dramatic fight, but if any battle scene was like a real prison fight it’s that one. After reading several books on sword fighting in large battles, I learned that almost all sword wounds are fatal. Some men rubbed garlic on their blades to make sure of this. It’s not superstition. Garlic in an internal wound usually causes gangrene. Medieval battles are gruesome. Dragons that spew acid are even more so.



FLOW:  You mentioned solitary being ‘the worst thing’ earlier.  What did you mean by that? About the writing or something else? Can you explain?

M.R. MATHIAS:  I can briefly explain. After so much time alone, I find that I come off as egocentric. I'm really not. I'm proud of what I've done, and usually so surprised by the way my writing is being received that I talk about it with enthusiasm. Beyond that, I find that life has very little chance at competing with my imagination. It almost lived up recently. It was refreshing.

Try this: Lock yourself in a bathroom for 24 hours. Don’t open the door. Try it for just an hour. Then imagine nearly four calendar years of that type of solitude. Think of how far and deep an intelligent mind can travel with so much time. I flew on the backs of dragons and created several worlds. Imagine how I feel standing in a crowded department store now.

FLOW:  Given that background and the old adage ‘write what you know’, have you ever been tempted to switch into the crime or mystery genres? Why/why not?

M.R. MATHIAS:  Well I have ideas, but until the Wardstone Trilogy is complete, I am not going to start anything new. But look for more stuff like The Butcher's Boy in the future. Crime, thrills, violence, and paranormal freakiness will be featured in more than one future novel.


FLOW:  Can you give us any spoilers about the rest of the Wardstone Trilogy?

M.R. MATHIAS:   Remember what Lord Gregory tells Mikahl as he lay dying in Hyden Hawk's village in The Sword and the Dragon. And sadly, not all of our heroes will survive the final book. Anyone who reads my work already knew that though. *He laugh's a laugh very similar to Pael's* 

FLOW:  What about the future works?

M.R. MATHIAS:   Well fans of the Dragoneer Saga will be glad to know that Jenka and Zahrellion will most likely reunite in The Emerald Rider. I see that one available in 2013. After another paranormal thriller.

FLOW:  What inspired you to write while in prison rather than say, take up a trade, continue with drugs or join a gang—other common prison pastimes? How did you maintain that inspiration (prison can be a very depressing and/or scary place!)?

M.R. MATHIAS:  I was doing some of the above mentioned things until I ended up in solitary. Once there, I was consuming books like a mad man. It got to the point where I just said, "Hey, you can do that." And I did. For the better part of four years I read 300 pages and wrote 3k words a day. I still have novels on the shelf that are in longhand. I’m hoping to find someone who can read my terrible handwriting and will enter them into word for me....lol Yes my penmanship is that bad.

FLOW:  So, in a sense like you said, solitary was good for you. Were other inmates ever a hindrance to your work rather than an inspiration or facilitator? Staff?

M.R. MATHIAS:   Yes. Solitary is crazy. Guys yelling from cell to cell all day. Gambling on every sport event that made the radio (No Television at all) I could read through all of that. If the book was good enough, like Robin Hobbs, Scott Lynch, or G.R.R.M. it would all fade away. Writing in the day was impossible. But there is a time, after the noise dies away where its nearly still, only a distant whispered conversation echoing around the concrete. In that time I wrote, and I escaped into my stories.

FLOW:  As you’ve said in past interviews, lack of resources was a real problem in prison. Plus, prison libraries are often chronically under-stocked and outdated. How did this influence the formation of your writing style and habits? What, if anything would you change or unlearn about them if you could?

M.R. MATHIAS:  I have some bad point of view habits. I tend to want the reader to know what all the characters are thinking. I'm working that out as I go. I am also working on the issue of showing instead of telling. Sometimes I am telling on purpose, to advance the story because one thread or another has passed a lot of time and the current one needs catching up. I don’t think the reader wants to know what every day of a journey is like. Over capping the bulk of a trip while detailing the few exciting events is telling, but necessary. I'm learning to better pick and choose what needs showing though. My editor helps me greatly with suggestions and even sternly typed lecture.



I wish I would have had him for all of The Sword and the Dragon. It has some editing issues still, but I think overall the version that is available now captures the raw nature of writing such a huge book in a prison cell with an ink pen. I didn’t have backspace keys or spell check. At least twenty percent of the trilogy is written the margins sideways, upside down, in balloons, with tiny, tiny printed letters and arrows pointing to where the insertion goes. I challenge anyone alive to do as well. I think people want to read what I wrote in prison, not what a fancy editor turns that into. The distractions of the mistakes should act as a reminder of the conditions the story was created under. After all, that’s half of the whole story, right. It’s the "huge fantasy novel that guy wrote in prison."  That said a fully revised edition will be available in the future. The "as is" prison version will always remain for sale too.

FLOW:  How do you see your writing as having evolved since leaving prison? Since becoming an internet success? How would you like to see it continue to grow and change in the next 5 years?

M.R. MATHIAS:  I think I am learning with every chapter I write. My POV is getting tighter and my grasp of showing the story instead of telling it is gaining strength too. I have never had a problem with content. I was always the dungeon master when I played AD&D as a kid. And in prison I made up an entire system based on Gary Gygax's game so that we could play structured RPG's without the many books and charts associated with such. As I learn the mechanics of writing, even the storytelling becomes easier. I can only thank the Gods for that. Learning the proper way to write is work, though. I think it’s clear to my readers that I am undertaking that task seriously.

FLOW:  It sounds like you had a lot of time to use your imagination. Is that why your writing predominantly focused on fantasy rather than other genres? Was it escapism or did you always know it was something more?
  
M.R. MATHIAS:  I would like to write a definitive masterpiece of fantasy. I have it brewing in the back of my mind. It will be called Harthgar and be a standalone novel of about a thousand pages. And if you have read any of my series, you will have heard of that distant place. It is a fantastic city/continent, but only mentioned vaguely. I am sort of planting the seed for it in my readers now...lol that’s what convicts do. We think ahead. Way ahead.

FLOW:  How far ahead? Is it akin to the lifetime work of the Tolkein universe or something a little less consuming?

M.R. MATHIAS:  Far less consuming. It will come easy or I will write something that does instead.  I hate struggling to write. Luckily I have found inspiration when needed and usually my steady work ethic carries me through. Harthgar won’t be a reality for several years, but it’s a story that I think will have to be freed from my mind.

FLOW:  Thinking ahead like that has lots of practical advantages. How does this ability help you with your writing?

M.R. MATHIAS:  When I wrote the Wardstone Trilogy I had never heard of a Kindle or an eReader. I think that’s why people like it. It’s pure. I wrote it for my sanity and published it so my mom and dad could be proud again. People respect that. Its real. The thought of success and making money as an author had no part of the process.



FLOW:  Have you been able to hold onto that outlook or has being on the outside and having to earn a living changed things?

M.R. MATHIAS:   I write for a living now. I have published 16 titles in less than two years. My work ethic speaks for itself. I try very hard to stay on top of things and keep my own rigid deadlines. Few people who get into self-publishing haven't heard of me. That is because I am serious about what I do, and as my own publisher I try to do a good job of putting my name and work out there.

FLOW:  One of your novels, The Butcher’s Boy, is a complete departure from much of your other work. What inspired you to write this? Do you have any plans to write anything else in this genre?


M.R. MATHIAS:  I think I may have covered this already. I love writing real life people in our time. I will write more stuff like The Butcher's Boy. Maybe less horror and more mystery/thriller, but who knows.

FLOW:  Looking forward to seeing it!  Meanwhile, you have been putting together Dragon Poem anthologies for charity. Could you tell us how this came about, the charity itself and what inspired you to champion it?

M.R. MATHIAS:  One year I won three thousand dollars in a poker tournament in New Orleans. It was just before the holidays and my mom had been researching charities that actually use the donated funds for charity. She suggested I donate, as a way to keep my karma good, to smiletrain.org and I donated. It is one of the best donation direct to purpose charities out there. The idea that those kids have no smile is appalling to me. There are other charities that need money, and some closer to home, but those kids are helpless and a smile is such a terrible thing to have to live without. Anyone who reads this should write a silly dragon poem, and more importantly, put the anthology on your kindle. The first anthology made less than $100 last year and one cleft reparation operation is $250. I donated the rest of the money, and will do so every year until the anthologies start making enough. L.M. Stull, author of A Thirty Something Girl, is a fantastic person. She hosts and does the judging. I sponsor the event and make sure (upfront) that a surgery is paid for.

FLOW:  What a marvelous charity and way to raise money for it. If it is an open competition, where should people submit their dragon poems?


 FLOW:  It sounds to me like you are more than ‘repaying your debt to society’ and could really be an inspiration to both prisoners and former prisoners alike. Have you ever thought about giving talks either in prisons or for former prisoners re-entering society? Is that something that would interest you? Donating your books to prison libraries?

M.R. MATHIAS:  I've thought about it. But the idea of going back to a prison, even as a speaker sickens me. I might start speaking to addicts, and people who have been newly released. I also have an idea for an inmate reading program that Amazon and Createspace, as well as many of the great indie authors could benefit from. It’s still forming in my head though and might come to fruition after Wardstone III is on the shelves. 

FLOW:  So who is Mr. Stubbs and why is he so irreverent on Twitter?

M.R. MATHIAS:  Mr. Stubbs is a blue eyed charmer with a potty mouth and people seem to love him. Someone even made a Mr. Stubbs fan club with t-shirts. He's just my dog. He is real popular with my younger cousins and one day I opened up a Twitter account for him. He tweets stuff for dogs and funny stuff. The idea is to cause a smile or get a laugh. Also to promote stuff like Dragon Poems, or new releases from fellow authors. Sales of certain books, reviews too. He tweets things like: "I can lick my own nuts. What can you do?" You would be surprised at the thousands of twitter responses his tweets get. It takes hours to go through them, and I had to stop responding just to be fair. Never-the-less his following has grown into five figures now I think. He's a popular dog. If he would quit eating my shoes while I'm out he might get a milk bone.

FLOW:  Sounds like a great dog! J Thank you very much for giving us such wonderful insight into your work and plans for the future. Is there anything else you would like to add?

M.R. MATHIAS:   Yes, Write a poem about dragons and enter the contest linked above. Buy the anthologies and tell a friend. It’s just a buck and a child with a broken smile gets the profit. Thanks for the interview. It was my pleasure answering your questions.

Sunday 29 January 2012

Bargain of the Day: Bleedover by Curtis Hox

Today's Amazon Kindle edition Bargain of the Day Pick is Bleedover by Curtis Hox.  At $0.99 you really should give this great book a try!


BOOK DESCRIPTION:
An intriguing phenomenon in literature and arts. A maverick professor's quest to find answers. And a discovery that will shock the world.


The pressure is mounting for professor Harriet Sterling. She's on the verge of fully deciphering why books, TV, film, and advertising are suddenly being altered, a phenomenon she named bleedover. But her controversial theories are ruining her credibility.


She needs proof, and fast, before her career hits a dead end. She also must move quickly before her long-time enemy, successful business man and psychotic H.P Lovecraft fan Corbin Lyell, can buy his way into controlling bleedover. That would mean Corbin's golden ticket to fulfilling twisted prophecies of summoning dark monsters from the worlds of his pulp heroes.


When Dr. Sterling's research team accidentally decodes a mysterious book insertion and successfully generates an apple out of thin air, the world takes notice. So does an enraged Corbin who plans a massive attack with deadly consequences.


With a blend of science fiction and fantasy, Bleedover explores provocative territory that guarantees a journey full of unexpected twists and turns.

Freebie Pick of Today: 29 January 2012

Today's Amazon Kindle Freebie Pick of the Day is Witness Chase by R. J. Jagger.  Why not check out this highly rated thriller?


BOOK DESCRIPTION
When up-and-coming associate attorney Kelly Ravenfield discovers she is on a stranger’s murder list, she frantically searches for answers, not only to save her life but also to find out whether she was tricked into participating in a murder herself.

M.R. Mathias Confliction Compendium give away ends tomorrow

Tomorrow our give away of 6 Kindle Edition copies of M.R. Mathias' Confliction Compendium ends.  


Simply become a follower of this blog and write a comment in one of the give away announcement posts to enter the drawing!  This great $8.00 book could be yours FREE!!  ENTER NOW!

Saturday 28 January 2012

CALLING ALL AUTHORS AND READERS!

LOOKING FOR GREAT STORIES!


Please submit your nominations for book of the day, freebie of the day or bargain pick of the day to http://flurriesofwords.blogspot.com/

ONLY TWO DAYS until the M.R. Mathias Confliction Compendium Give Away Ends!


ONLY TWO MORE DAYS until the give away for 6 Kindle Edition copies of M.R. Mathias' Confliction Compendium ends!  




Just become a follower of this blog and leave a comment on one of the announcement blog notices for entry.  It's that simple! 

Bargain Pick of the Day: Alice in Deadland by Mainak Dhar

Today's Amazon Kindle edition Bargain Pick of the Day is Alice in Deadland by Mainak Dhar.  At $0.99 why not check it out?


BOOK DESCRIPTION
Civilization as we know it ended more than fifteen years ago, leaving as it's legacy barren wastelands called the Deadland and a new terror for the humans who survived- hordes of undead Biters. Fifteen year-old Alice has spent her entire life in the Deadland, her education consisting of how best to use guns and knives in the ongoing war for survival against the Biters. One day, Alice spots a Biter disappearing into a hole in the ground and follows it, in search of fabled underground Biter bases. What Alice discovers there propels her into an action-packed adventure that changes her life and that of all humans in the Deadland forever. An adventure where she learns the terrible conspiracy behind the ruin of humanity, the truth behind the origin of the Biters, and the prophecy the mysterious Biter Queen believes Alice is destined to fulfill. A prophecy based on the charred remains of the last book in the Deadland- a book called Alice in Wonderland.

Freebie Pick of the Day: The Mach Band Region by Maria Rachel Dooley

Today's Amazon Kindle edition freebie pick of the day is The Mach Band Region by Maria Rachel Dooley.


Check it out!



Book Description

When I left McKarey's Bluff ten years ago, I never planned to return. Ariel Morgan had refused to marry me and there was nothing left to stay for. Now Ariel is dead, supposedly by her own hand, and her younger sister, Rachel, is spiraling toward that same fate. Rachel used to be in love with me, maybe even more than Ariel. But she was a kid then. Now I'm returning to save a woman. And McKarey's Bluff is a small town haunted by more than Ariel's death. Years ago fifteen prostitutes disappeared. Sometimes the ghosts come back, not that I believe in them. But something isn't right here, and I'm seeing things I can't explain. I came to save Rachel, but I'm not even sure I can save myself anymore.

Cameo the Assassin: Kindle Edition Free on Amazon

Great news!  One of our past books of the day, Cameo the Assassin by Dawn McCullough-White is free today on Amazon!


If you haven't already picked it up, why not take a look now?

Friday 27 January 2012

CALL TO AUTHORS: NOMINATIONS FOR BOOK OF THE DAY

Dear Authors,


Flurries of words is now open to nominations for our book of the day.  If you have written a book of which you are particularly proud that you would like to nominate to be featured as our book of the day.  Please drop us a line and let us know about it at flurriesofwords@yahoo.co.uk or flurriesofwords@gmail.com.


Hope to hear from you soon! :-)