Category: Excerpts

Passages, short stories, or poems from published or unpublished books.

Categories
Excerpts Guest Posts

Dance of the Goblins by Jaq D Hawkins

image provided by author

Book Title: Dance of the Goblins -new expanded 3rd edition

Series: The Goblin Series

Author Name: Jaq D Hawkins

Publisher: Golbin Publishing

Reading Level: mid-grade to adult

Genre: fantasy

Content Rating: PG

Available Formats: paperback, ebook, audio- coming soon.

Number of Pages: 241

Purchase Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Smashwords (all e-formats) |
Lulu (paperback)

****

The Blurb

They say that the earth shifts on its axis every 200,000 years…

When the planet shifted, most of the surface dwellers were destroyed. The few pockets of survivors were left without technology and little supplies, but they built a simple feudal society on the rubble of the city.

Meanwhile the creatures in the deep places moved closer to the surface, taking over the old underground transport tunnels abandoned by the humans. Their own Shamanic way of life had survived only by staying out of sight of the humans who habitually killed what they did not understand.

Five generations of humans passed and the descendants of survivors settled into a way of life that was simple but satisfying, until one day a man wandered into one of the old tunnels…

****

Excerpt

The man alternately fought his bindings and tried to appear aggressive to the goblins, as much as a captive with arms and legs bound might do. He puffed out his chest, shouting threats one moment and in the next he would shrink from the prodding, looking pathetic. Haghuf had little taste for such sport, and had just about decided to retreat quietly and leave them to it when the human suddenly saw him standing in the arch of the cavern opening, quiet and still as the stone.

‘You! Are you the leader here?’ shouted the man with all the authority he could muster. Haghuf didn’t answer right away. Slowly, he strolled towards the man, looking at him curiously as if he had never seen such a creature before. In truth, he had seen very few up close in his lifetime. He preferred to keep it that way.

Everything in the room seemed to stop as Haghuf examined the prisoner, crouching down slowly to look him in the eye as was the custom among goblins when engaging an enemy. The human’s chest heaved with quick, shallow breaths. He licked his lips nervously, caught up in the moment of suspense while he waited for an answer. Haghuf turned his head to look at the creature sideways, first one way then the other. Then at last he spoke in his low, gravely voice, slowly and deliberately in the man’s own tongue.

‘We have no leader. We are all one kind here.’

The human’s eyes darted from one goblin to another. His expression exposed his utter bewilderment at the concept of a leaderless race.

‘But surely someone must be in charge?’ he cried, almost desperately. Haghuf again took his time in answering.

‘We are not like you. We do not glory in having power over our own kind.’ Haghuf turned to walk away. Then as an afterthought added over his shoulder, ‘Or imagining that we do.’

‘What shall we do with him?’ shouted one of the goblins.

‘Kill him,’ Haghuf answered flatly, just as he passed back through the arch.

Haghuf chuckled to himself as he walked out of the side cavern. It didn’t matter to him whether the goblins behind him took his suggestion or not. His amusement came from the knowledge that to the human who could not comprehend non-authority, it would have sounded like an order from a superior.

Click here to see a 5 star consumer review of this book by Diane Rapp.

****

The Author

image provided by author

Jaq D Hawkins is a published writer with 10 books in publication in the Mind, Body, Spirit genre published by Capall Bann Publishing, as well as four Fantasy novels in print and E-book; The Wake of the Dragon, Dance of the Goblins, Demoniac Dance, and, Power of the Dance, published by Golbin Publishing.

Information on all titles can be found through her website at http://www.jaqdhawkins.co.uk

Samples from various projects occasionally appear on her blog at http://indiewritenet.com/jaqdhawkins/

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords

Categories
Excerpts Guest Posts

Purple Snowflake Marketing by Lillian Brummet

Book Title: Purple Snowflake Marketing – How To Make Your Book Stand Out in a Crowd

Author Name: Lillian and Dave Brummet

Publisher: Independent

Reading Level: Adult

Genre: how-to, self-help, book promotion, etc…

Content Rating: G

Available Formats:  e-book and print

Number of Pages: 378

Purchase Links: Available at most online bookstores as well as:

Smashwords.com (e-book) | Createspace.com (print)

See reviews of this book here:  http://www.brummet.ca/purplereviews.html

****

Book Description

Make your book stand out in the crowd! Getting your book into the hands of paying readers is the most important goal of a writer and with the tools offered in this book the sales of your book will increase dramatically!

For the average author the marketing and promotion of their own book is a mystery in itself, and outsourcing these activities can quickly erode their budget. This book has all the tools and tips for developing that marketing plan, and turn your writing into a professional career.

Purple Snowflake Marketing offers a realistic guide to what authors can expect to face and how to employ research and preparation to make a memorable first impression. As you put together a marketing plan, you will be able to proceed with the confidence of a seasoned writer. This book is packed with value, with over 1000 resources along with stats and inspiring quotes to assist you in developing that unique marketing plan for each book you write.

****

Book Excerpt:

“The first year after a book is released is often termed as the “one-year honeymoon period” by those in the industry. This is because many authors run out of contacts (friends, family, local media, colleagues, etc.) their budget has run dry, and initial marketing tactics are completed around the one-year mark. If the author has some name recognition, a basic marketing plan in place that goes beyond the Honeymoon Period, and shows an understanding of the promotional work required, than the author has a greater chance of being accepted by publishers.

Now, one of the reasons publishers must be choosy is simply related to budget. They are working with, like everyone else, a limited budget. So as book proposals come in they are looking for the ones that will be the least likely to drain their budget and the most likely to bring in revenue. Therefore a proactive author will have a greater chance of getting approval and considerations for any other programs they might have in place.

Sure, we can see e-book authors, for instance, who are making a living from just one or a few e-books. We also see authors in print format reaching out to the Internet audience, and succeeding. The reason? That is where people are. They are not attending events in the numbers they used to, they are not going into bookstores and libraries in the numbers they used to – and so we have to go where they are. What do your readers want? What formats do they like? It really boils down to knowing the audience for each book that is about to be released.

The success of your book depends on many factors starting with genre, release date, the publisher’s policies, the size of book, the quality of the printing, the format you choose, printer and publisher schedules, staffing, suppliers and the original condition of the manuscript. The ingenuity, preparedness and experience of the author, personal finances and resources, and location can also determine the success of a book. All of this will influence how a book is marketed and reinforces the need for every book’s marketing plan to be unique.”

Lillian Brummet Links:

http://brummetmedia.ca/
http://www.twitter.com/brummet
http://www.facebook.com/lillian.brummet
http://www.linkedin.com/in/ldbrummet

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords

Categories
EC: Giovanni's Angel Excerpts Promotion

Eternal Curse Release Week! Saturday Sample 2014

Cover

Eternal Curse: Giovanni’s Angel, from chapter 3

Eternal Curse: Giovanni’s Angel Copyright © 2013 Toinette Thomas

It had been one of those rare nights when Giovanni was tired enough to attempt sleeping through the night. The night ended commonly enough with him being tormented with twisted dreams instead. His sleep never quite seemed to offer him the rest he sought, and, apparently, his body didn’t need the rest very much, as he’d grown used to going days without sleeping.

Like many nights before, his body had become drenched in sweat as he lay beneath his sheets. While he tossed and turned in his bed, he became entangled in the fabric as it began to cling and stick to his body. As he dreamed of war, Giovanni could feel the warmth of a slow burning fire growing all around him. The intensity of the battle in his mind was so great that heat began to radiate from his body as though he were actually in the line of fire and apart of the battle.

In his mind, Giovanni could see a battlefield suspended in the highest high of the sky, engulfed in clouds, with mountains of flattened bodies stacked all around. A smoky dust began to fill the air in the forefront of this nightmare, where there stood a victorious warrior standing tall over his defeated foe. The warrior’s body seemed to emit a golden glowing light as angelic pristine white wings rose up, soaring from behind him. He was truly the epitomized image of purity, majesty, and strength. The warrior angel clutched a sword in one hand with diamond clusters for a blade and deeply dark onyx for the handle. In his other hand, he toted a shield of shimmering gold and silver.

Giovanni stretched out his neck and squinted his eyes, but he could not make out the face of the angelic warrior. As the victor knelt down and placed his hand over the head of his foe, Giovanni could see that he was looking down at the slain face of a youth; a golden boy, curled up like a wheel with his head pressed into his feet. His body was covered with a thousand crying eyes that now remained forever shut behind their resting lids.

There seemed to be a black smoke-like spirit fading away, almost seeping, from the corpse as it disintegrated into ash. Giovanni was nearby struggling to break free, as forces of anger and hatred held him down. He could not see this enemy, this dark force that was digging its claws into his flesh, causing blood to trickle painfully from his body. Giovanni so wanted to break away from his adversary and fight the good fight face to face, but he couldn’t.

A new edition of this book is now available. 

Eternal Curse: Giovanni’s Angel releases worldwide on February 18th,
so be sure to check it out and enter my Release Day Giveaway!

****

 Day 2 of my Kindle Countdown Deals on Legend of the Boy and Unexplained, featuring two romantic tales, Encounter and Our Place.  Deals end at 11:59 pm EST 2/18; Happy Release Day!

I hope you are enjoying Eternal Curse Release Week! If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #cursescanbebroken