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Wednesday, November 26, 2014

FREE!!! Everybody Loves Free Stuff!!!

So, who has anything against free stuff? I know that I certainly don't. I live for giveaways, contests, try-me-outs and any other way to get free stuff. Which brings me to the reason for this particular blog. You see, there are more than 70 books waiting to be snatched up by some lucky people.
A great group called Indie Books Be Seen has come up with the idea of their first annual Secret Santa Indie Book Giveaway Contest. There are some fantastic books available, including The Last Ranger of Sarn AND Blood Moon Sacrifice. Yeah baby, I'm sending both to the cause.
But let's examine why indie books are better than regular author books. The reasons are fairly obvious, but the majority of folks just don't see them.
1) Indie authors are new and exciting. They have stuff you just have not seen before. Steven King is great, but after all this time, you can almost tell it's his work even without seeing his name.
2) Indie books are usually less expensive. We need to get readers, so big price tags are like poison to us for now. Once I can afford a cabin in the woods where I can do my writing, I'll tack on another ten to twenty bucks per title.
3) Indies have new characters. For those that enjoy series-type tales, isn't it time to go out and meet new friends? How much fun can the party be when it's the same faces year in and year out? This is not to say kick your old friends to the curb, just broaden your social circles.
4) Indie authors deserve love too. We sit and write day after day, week after week, just to get a single book out. Most of the time we do all our own editing, all our own proofreading and in many cases, even our own covers. That is frikkin' dedication. We're doing this for a different reason than well-established writers.
We do it for love. We don't do it for a fan-base. Or to pay the mortgage on that cabin in the woods where we write in the blissful solitude of nature. We don't do it to fulfill the demands of publishers and agents. We do it because we have all these voices in our heads that demand to be heard. We do it because we love to oblige them.
We write for kids, pre-teens, teens, young adults, old adults, cranky adults, and anybody that can read. We even write for the lucky few at the start of life (or closer to the end of it) that have someone to read to them. We write about our lives, other people's lives, our dog's life and the risque tales of Fifi the Ruffled Guinea Pig's life. We write about real things, imagined things, true events and some weird space shit that might just happen one day.
We write to make you smile, cry, laugh and more importantly, to touch you in a way you'll remember for a lifetime. Not in an inappropriate way, despite what some of you might want, but on an emotional level that you've not felt before. In a way you'll demand to be touched again. That is what indie writers bring to the table. And they bring it every time!
So, what I want you to do is very simple. I want you to go to the Secret Santa Indie Book Giveaway and show support for the indie community. Say "Hell yes! I want a free book damnit!" and enter the contest. Then, read the book and remember this. The best way to thank an author is to leave a review. Nothing elaborate, unless you happen to work for the reviews at the New York Times Bestsellers List, but just a few words about what you liked.
Thanks for your time and remember, have a safe and happy holiday season!