Author Blog-in: The End of the World Sucks by Sharon Trembley

Author Blog-In: End of the World Sucks

Sharon’s such a good sport that I read and reviewed her book just for the Blog-in! Read it here: http://katepolicanisreviews.wordpress.com/2012/09/14/the-end-of-the-world-sucks-by-sharon-trembley/

 

The End of the World Sucks by Sharon Trembley

This is a genre blender book that might be compared to Lord of the Flies meets Let the Right One In in a post-zombie apocalyptic world. Don’t worry though, it’s about the people even though there are elements of horror.

Zombies, a Vampire, or her fellow Man – Which is most likely to kill Vanna Ames? Who can she trust?

After surviving a whole month past the End of the World by hiding and staying quiet, recent college graduate and fashion retail employee, Vanna, luckily finds others who have gathered together as a community for their mutual survival on a college campus.

Although claiming to be a democratic society, tempers become frayed, decisions defy logic, and rules are broken. Further emboldened by the lack of society and law, some even gain a sense of entitlement because they are self-labeled heroes.

Now that all the rules have changed, a vampire arrives with a deal – his help for blood. An equally beneficial offer or a Faustian bargain?

As the community’s flaws grow, Vanna must decide whether to stick with her own kind in relative safety, or reject their community service nightmare, risk her life, and appeal to a vampire who claims his only interest is human blood.

And for the Author Blog In, here’s an excerpt to give a better idea of Vanna’s character because she is a character.  This occurs after Vanna hears gun shots early in the book and goes for a walk to find out what happened –

When she reached a point where two rolls of chain-link were joined together with some twisted wire, Vanna saw her. If she had seen that dress before, she would have remembered.
Muumuus were made for a woman of this size. Displaying a cheery, floral print provided no slimming effects, but proudly declared big and beautiful. Along with the turquoise, orange, and pink poly-blend tent, she also wore a pair of nude knee highs, and filthy, pink terry scuff slippers, and large, turquoise-colored plastic earrings with a matching chunky bracelet.
The woman had fallen on her side facing the fence, and like most of the corpses, her eyes remained forever open. Vanna thought the zombies didn’t blink, so that might be why their eyes turned that spotty white color.
Even with a visible gunshot wound to her face, Vanna could see the trivial details that further defined who this used to be. The woman’s short, not-so-natural blond hair was arranged into a crown of curlsframing her face. She also had heavy blue eye shadow still caked all the way up to her plucked, then redrawn with brown pencil, eyebrows.
Her lower face was grimy, Vanna couldn’t confirm her expectation of coordinating lipstick to match her screaming pink nail polish, brightly visible on the tips of her dirt-caked fingers from a distance. Vanna’sconstant fearful imagination made the gunk smeared on the zombie’s lips still appear fresh, wet and red, when she knew it had been there for weeks.

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Author Blog-in: The Artist’s Inheritance by Juli D. Revezzo

Author blog-in first book!

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Reviewers Rock! Thanks Bookworm Extraordinaire!

Here is a lovely review for my book, Don’t Judge a Book By Its Magic, by The Bookworm Extraordinaire: http://www.thebookwormextraordinare.blogspot.com/2012/09/review-dont-judge-book-by-its-magic-by.html

And I’m the “Author of the Month” too! (That’s in the side margin)

The book release is set for Oct 26th! Be sure to mark the date ’cause we’re going to party!

Thanks again Bookworm!

Categories: My Books | Tags: , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Author Blog-in Day 1: Post Your Own Book!

The Disenchanted Pet

By Kate Policani

Short synopsis:

Far into the future, the Earth is ruled by the ShaZha, a hyper-intelligent race of alien beings who are plagued by the violence and volatility of the human race. Supposedly intending to repair the broken societies and polluted planet, they have found the Human problem to be much more complex than they ever imagined. Zarah is a Prodigy, an obedient human, with a caring ShaZha master. Zarah wants to prove all her master’s hopes that humans can be civilized and responsible. When she is lost by her master and exposed to the other side of humanity, she must confront the possibility she might be not a valued citizen, but a pet.

I am currently writing my next book called The Stray, a second book set in the ShaZha Earth. It isn’t a sequel, but the story connects with The Disenchanted Pet

Buy The Disenchanted Pet on Amazon (Kindle and Paperback. Kindle copy free with Amazon Prime)

To buy multiple ebook formats, go to https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/93067

To buy the paperback, click here: https://www.createspace.com/3657962

For great reviews:

http://tahlianewland.com/2011/12/23/review-the-disenchanted-pet-by-kate-policani/

http://mainemuse.wordpress.com/2012/01/10/the-disenchanted-pet-by-kate-policani/

http://nadiariell.com/2012/01/18/a-book-review-for-the-disenchanted-pet-by-kate-policani/

http://www.speculativefaith.com/authors/kate-policani/

Long Synopsis:

The Disenchanted Pet is ashort Science Fiction novel that takes place in the popular “post-apocalyptic Earth” setting,  exploreing the unique problems with the Human Race and how to “fix” it.

Zarah is a young, optimistic girl, entering into the exciting world of adulthood with an idealistic perspective. But Zarah lives in the a future where Humanity is ruled by an alien race occupying Earth in order to rehabilitate and repair the planet and its people.

Reality intrudes on Zarah’s unspoiled outlook when she is attacked and separated from her SaSa, an alien guardian who is like a parent to her. Trapped within the Feral Facility, pregnant and separated from her home and new husband, she learns all the mistakes about the reality she believed in. She sees that the “Ferals”, who who aren’t serviceable within  the ShaZha’s plans, are not necessarily the monsters her Prodigy society has portrayed them to be.

Suffering through the harsh truth about her world and the errors in her ideals, she must face a future without the assurances upon which she always relied.

The Disenchanted Pet appeals to Science Fiction lovers as well as readers who have never explored the genre before. It explores the disillusionment of growing up and the harsh realities of adulthood, but with aliens.

Cover Art by Heidi Barnett and Erik Sederstrom warpfrenzy@msn.com

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When You’re Stuck – How to Beat a Writer’s Block.

What do you do when that blog post or chapter or poem just won’t COME OUT of your head?! Writer’s block hits anyone who writes, whether for their own amusement or for more serious reasons. But what do you do?

  1. Talk to someone about it. Call them up or have a meeting, whatever gets it done. You can talk to another writer, your Mom, or your favorite Sci-fi nerd. Whoever you think knows something to help get you started. There are even message boards online to talk about writing.
  2. Take a break. Sometimes you just need a little time and perspective to figure out what to write next. Hopefully you don’t have an immediate deadline. Don’t agonize over your issue the whole time, either. Get completely away from it. You’ll find that sometimes your subconscious can accomplish things your conscious mind can’t manage. My breaks from my writing sometimes take weeks or months. Then suddenly I have the answer and my writing continues.
  3. Blow something up! Not for real. I mean with your writing. This can mean literally including an explosion in your story or just resorting to something outrageous to spice things up in your project.
  4. Input. I simply can’t write anything unless I have an “input”. It doesn’t even have to be the same genre as what I’m writing. I just need to read what others write to fuel my own inspiration. Sometimes a really good movie, television show, or even a song will also inspire me in my writing. Try being the audience for a while so you can continue to be the storyteller.
  5. Clear Distractions. Maybe your workspace is too chaotic for you to think well. I know that is frequently my problem with three active kids in the house. If you can block those out, you may be able to get the inspiration you need to going. Your computer can be a distraction, as you know. Pull out a pad and paper (old-fashioned, I know) or try a plain-text editor like JDarkRoom http://www.codealchemists.com/jdarkroom/
  6. Make it challenging. Sometimes it’s not the chaos that gets you but the tranquility. Plan some events, start another project, or something…and squeeze that writing out of yourself with pressure! That’s how I usually do it, so you can tell it works.
  7. Set goals. Sometimes a goal, especially one you’ve shared with someone else, can help you get going. You know what’s reasonable! Set a goal and keep yourself accountable to reach it!

Do you have any other ideas for beating writer’s block?

These bloggers do!

http://fictionwriting.about.com/od/writingroadblocks/tp/block.htm

http://storytellingnomad.wordpress.com/2011/10/05/top-10-writing-distractions/

http://www.webook.com/911writersblock A fun tool to help you get past it! Dial your solution.

**What did you think about the GIFs? Annoying? Fun? It was fun to make but I don’t want to give you seizures.

Categories: Writing | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Seattle + Coffee = Love

If you don’t live here, you really don’t get it. Sure, you need your coffee in the morning just like any other responsible adult. But in Seattle there is a special connection with our java that transcends the relationship of people in a lot of other places. We drink it hot, iced, mixed with other stuff, straight-up and super-concentrated, and even diet. Starbucks, Seattle’s Best Coffee, Tully’s, and lots of other less famous places got their successful start here for a reason. Here’s why: Continue reading

Categories: Completely Off-Topic | Tags: , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Pre-review time!

My book is ready for pre-review! I won’t scream at you in a blog post, but know that I’m repressing a scream of excitement.

If you would like to pre-review my book, please email me at katepolicani(at)gmail.com and I’ll send you an e-copy. I will feature your review on my upcoming Virtual Release Party starting October 26th!

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More Social Media for Bloggers

On my latest foray into blogging success, I found some more social media sites that bloggers can use to promote their blog. I know. Do I really need more of this? Well I’m trying it, since promoting my blog is also promoting my books.

Bloggers.com: This seems like Facebook for your blog page. You discover and follow others on the site based on their blog. I’m not sure of the value of it yet. I have a lot of  “followers” simply by signing up but they don’t seem to have anything in common with what I blog about. I think the idea is to browse for blogs through their site and connect that way. Three blog views have come my way through Bloggers in the past month.

StumbleUpon: Take note of what you like on the web. That’s what this is. It’s a like and share generator for websites. It’s simple and elegant. I haven’t seen any views yet since I started it. You can plug it in to your WordPress site.

Tumblr: Tumblr is similar to Stumble Upon except that you can syndicate your own blog through it. It has lots more features, too, none of which I have used yet. You can add pictures and other content to your existing posts too. Are you starting to see a pattern of replicating work. Yep, me too. You can also plug Tumblr into your WordPress site.

Digg: They should call it “Ditto”. Digg is all about reading blogs and letting everyone know you read them. You can mark blogs down on your “reading list”. I need a nap.

Reddit: Reddit looks like a site made in the 1990’s and never upgraded for style. You can’t link to your own blog, but you can share your own posts. Manually. It’s supposed to plug into WordPress, but I haven’t seen any indication it works unless someone hits the “Reddit” button about one of your posts. You can also do a “search”.

Here is blogger John Rampton’s suggestion on being a top blogger: http://www.johnchow.com/how-to-become-a-top-blogger-in-social-media/

If anyone has any awesome tips on these or any other social media sites, I’d love to hear them.

No, I don’t know this girl. It’s just a fun pic.

 

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Review of Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 (by a compulsive reader)

So, I don’t normally do product reviews, but I have to say something about this little beauty. I LOVE it!

I bought it at Best Buy as a replacement for my Toshiba Thrive 10″ tablet that one of my kids cracked. Going in, I was worried that the Galaxy wouldn’t match up to my 10 inch experience. But the 7 inch was cheaper and seemed to be pretty nice. Boy was I pleasantly surprised!

The 7 inch is definitely enough screen size for me. I use it mostly for reading, with some email and gaming. I lost absolutely nothing with the smaller screen. It’s so much lighter and easier to handle than the massive 10 inch! Also, it’s covered with shatterproof plastic instead of glass (so it won’t meet the same fate as its predecessor) and it is HD.

It’s responsive. I see very few crashes. The 8gb internal SD, which is all you can get with this size, isn’t a restriction. I have all the apps I could want on it and some that belong to my hubby, and I haven’t seen any space issues. I put in a 32gb mini SD card, the maximum, and I don’t see myself running out of space any time soon. The 10 inch models can get 16 and 32 gb capacity. I don’t really see why the 7 inch can’t since the cards are all the same size. Meh.

The only thing I’ve found that the Thrive did better was the keyboard input. The Galaxy is just as responsive, but with the smaller screen size the buttons for each character are smaller and cause more mistypes. (Stupid big European-size fingers!)

Super-bonus-important: I can get every ebook reader app out there on my tab. Overdrive, Kobo, Kindle, Wattpad, Nook, Aldiko, and more all works and you can read all your books no matter where you got them. This is a must for a habitual price-shopper like me.

I almost forgot to mention that you can also read manga on a tablet! There’s even an app for you comic book lovers. Something for everyone!

I really loved my Toshiba Thrive, but I love the Galaxy even more! If you’re looking for an e-reader, I’d consider the Galaxy tab.

I wonder what name they’re going to pick for the Android platform next. Jelly Bean, Ice Cream Sandwich; what’s next? Diabetes?

Here’s the official website: http://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/galaxy-tab/GT-P3113TSYXAR

Here are a few other reviews: http://reviews.cnet.com/handheld-devices/samsung-galaxy-tab-2/4505-3127_7-35137347.html

http://www.woot.com/offers/samsung-galaxy-tab-2-7-0

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jonathan-handel/review-samsung-galaxy-tab_b_1508385.html

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Things That Upset Authors

I’ve finally plugged into a few online author communities. It took me awhile, but I’m part of the conversation now. During my forays, I’ve noticed that there are some things that really infuriate authors.

Continue reading

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New Review: Drayling by Terry J. Newman

Drayling

by Terry J. Newman

Genre: Science Fiction

Read my review here: http://katepolicanisreviews.wordpress.com/2012/09/02/drayling-by-terry-j-newman/ Continue reading

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Flood of Information

Dwain the tub! I’m dwowning! …in information.

I love to read my followers blog posts and keep up to date on what you guys are doing! But it’s gotten to be entirely too much. I tweaked my settings to get a weekly digest and I get 85+ emails. I’m bummed that it’s more than I can manage.

All of this web stuff feels like more than I can manage. WordPress, Facebook, Twitter, Triberr, StumbleUpon, Goodreads, Writing.com, Google+, Reddit, Tumblr, Klout, Linkedin, and too many others flood into my computer every day, and they all link to each other. How do I handle it all?

Somebody has a great opportunity to create a multi-site dashboard that filters this stuff for you. I think it will take a computer guru just to calibrate it, but I’m willing to try if it means I can see the stuff I want to see. But I only want ONE. I refuse to endure five or six programs that do some of what I want. I know you can do it, hackers of the world! If it’s already out there, please let me know.

Do you feel swamped too? What ways do you handle aaaaallllllll the information? (I mean other than setting your computer on fire and giving up.)

Here are a couple of people’s perspectives on our Flood of Information: http://www.business2community.com/social-media/a-flood-of-information-do-you-remember-life-before-social-media-056696

A phrase that made me laugh: infobesity – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_overload

And these guys who say I’m in the minority: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_overload

Categories: Yarf! | Tags: , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The DNA of a Successful Book

I thought this was really cool! How does your book fit in this DNA?

I found this graphic here (where it is a bigger size): http://www.the-digital-reader.com/2012/08/30/teaching-with-tablets/#more-38248

and also here (and it’s enormous!): http://mashable.com/2012/08/26/reading-stats-infographic/

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High time for some links!

I haven’t done this in such a long time! Here are some good old-fashioned links for you! I decided to focus on the topic of “Promotion” this time.

http://addictivestory.wordpress.com/2012/08/29/calling-all-indie-authors-who-wants-book-promotion-prompt-16/ This looks like a great opportunity to promote! I’m totally signed up!

http://smartamarketing2.wordpress.com/2012/08/28/persuasion/ Here is a blog on marketing discussing the AIDA method of promotion.

http://anovelperspective.wordpress.com/2012/08/27/book-wars-the-pr-offices-of-my-book-is-better-than-yours/ Here is a cool article on a particular etiquett,e problem for promoting authors.

http://www.useit.com/alertbox/weblogs.html  is a good breakdown of how to make good blog posts especially number 3 about post titles!

http://paulstamatiou.com/how-to-boost-your-blog-traffic This one had lots of meaty goodness. I followed a lot of his suggestions.

And this one was just funny: http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2012/08/the-publishing-process-in-gif-form.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NathanBransford+%28Nathan+Bransford%2C+Author%29

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Claim on Technorati

Q36HVDWT59KC is my code to claim my blog on technorati.com, an  internet search engine for searching blogs. This was recommended to me in a post I read because my blog traffic seems to be deflating. Check it out! http://paulstamatiou.com/how-to-boost-your-blog-traffic

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