This post contains affiliate links. If you click through to make a purchase, I may make a small commission at no additional cost to you. Any amount I make goes towards my dream to host a book fair in Hampton Roads (Coastal), VA. Please see my About page for more details. Thank you for your support.
Amazon.com
Title: The Business of Short Stories: Writing, Submitting, Publishing, and Marketing Author: Shannon Lawrence ISBN: 978-1-7320314-5-6 Format/Price: Print ($13.99), e-book ($3.99) Release Date: February 1, 2022 Pre-order:eBook and Paperback at Amazon.com
Soon to be available at other retailers such as Ingram, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, and more.
Blurb: Whether you’re looking to add short stories to your repertoire as a solo pursuit or in addition to novel writing, The Business of Short Stories covers every aspect from writing to marketing. Learn the dynamics of short story writing, where to focus your editing efforts, how and where to submit, how to handle acceptances and rejections, what to do with reprints, and how to market yourself and your stories online and in person. The information in The Business of Short Stories has been distilled from over a decade of short story publishing experience so you don’t have to learn the hard way. You’ll find information on submission formatting, cover letters, querying a collection, sending proposals to writing events, how to create a website, SEO, social media, and so much more. This is an invaluable resource for short story writers.
There’s never been a better time to get into short stories!
Author: Shannon Lawrence has made a career of short stories, with over a decade of experience and more than fifty short stories published in magazines and anthologies. In addition, she’s released three horror short story collections with a mix of new and previously published stories. Her true-crime podcast Mysteries, Monsters, & Mayhem is going into its third season.
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 #blacklivesmatter
Hey guys, sorry for the late post, but I wanted to give you plenty of time to check out this cool book. The ebook is discounted until Wednesday and there’s some really cool stuff in this post, including a giveaway. Check it out and enjoy!
~
Will you survive the zombie apocalypse?
You wake up and find the zombie apocalypse has started. What do you do?
A: Take stock of anything you can use as a weapon, secure your home, and take stock of what food you have and how long it will last.
B: Get closer to look at a so-called zombie. This can’t be real.
C: Barricade yourself in your home and freak out.
Which of the following weapons would you use to kill zombies?
A: Gun.
B: Knife.
C: Baseball bat.
You’re making your way downtown in hopes of finding supplies. Along the way, you see a group of 4 zombies. They appear to be eating some unlucky sap. How do you get around them?
A: Backtrack and take a different route.
B: Run in with guns blazing and take them out.
C: Throw something that makes noise and causes the zombies to follow it.
Someone you love is now a zombie. How do you react?
A: Shoot them and put them out of their misery. It’s what you’d want if the roles were reversed.
B: Sob.
C: Capture them and put them somewhere secure in hopes of someone finding a cure.
You’ve found a group of survivors, but they don’t trust you’re not infected. How do you gain their trust?
A: Put your hands up and back away to show you are no threat. Leave. It’s not worth trying to reason with them.
B: Strip down to show that you are not infected, setting all your weapons aside.
C: Insist that you are not infected, motioning to visible skin and lack of blood on your clothing.
Results
If you answered mostly A then you’ll survive. You take survival seriously and don’t take unnecessary risks. You’ll either do it alone or find people you trust. You may even end up the leader of the group.
If you answered mostly B then you are screwed. You don’t take stock of your surroundings, don’t exercises caution, and think you are invincible. And now you’re a zombie.
If you answered mostly C then you have a chance. Sure, the concept of the zombie apocalypse freaked you out, but you’ve calmed down and you’re hoping with enough gumption you’ll make it. If not, you at least plan on taking out as many as you can first.
Toi: I answered mostly A, so I guess I’ll be okay.
~
Every human in the world becomes a zombie when they die. But Erin refuses to accept the world as it is now. She’s heard about a cure locked away in a lab in Upper Michigan, and she plans on retrieving it. To do so, she needs a zombie. Not just any zombie, though.
Zee is Erin’s link to the lab. His connection to the living world is her bargaining chip. But only if she can teach him to control his mindless impulses.
Can a zombie be trained? Or will Erin be Zee’s next meal and become a zombie herself? The fate of humanity rests in her hands.
Patricia never set out to become a writer, and in fact, she never considered it an option during high school and college. She was more of an art and band geek. Some stories are meant to be told, though, and now she can’t stop writing.
Patricia lives with her husband in Michigan, hopes one day to have what will resemble a small petting zoo, and has a fondness for dying her hair the colors of the rainbow.
This post contains affiliate links. If you click through to make a purchase, I may make a small commission at no additional cost to you. Any amount I make goes towards my dream to host a book fair in Hampton Roads, VA. Please see my About page for more details. Thank you for your support.
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 #blacklivesmatter
Thistle Greenbud thought the nickname Bad Fairy was behind her, but she can’t escape it. Someone is spreading a rumor about her that just isn’t true and can ruin all of her hard work in getting into Advanced School. What fairy would do such a thing?
As if that’s not bad enough, Thistle’s dad goes missing. Not a single fairy in Tinselville has seen him. He’s vanished like pixie dust. Her mom is distraught, and Thistle is worried. Where could he be?
Thistle and the Flutters, along with Dusty and Moss, are on both cases. Can they find out what happened to her dad and solve the Bad Fairy rumor? Thistle hopes so!
I was so happy to have a chance to read an early copy of this book. My reaction, “4.75 stars- Pretty deep stuff in a fluffy sweet package.” Click hereto read my full review.
~
Thistle (aka Bad Fairy) Chats with Dusty:
Thistle and Dusty used to be fairy enemies, each trying to
pay the other back for something they did to each other. But then a twisty
devastated their home of Pine Cone Grove and all that changed. They helped out
their fellow fairies side by side and are now, much to the astonishment of the
members of Thistle’s Flutter Club, friends.
Thistle: I had fun at the Spring
Festival.
Dusty: So did I! You looked very
pretty.
Thistle: *blushes* Thank you.
Dusty: What was your favorite part
of the festival?
Thistle: Tricking Moss and Lacey.
Dusty: *snickers* Once a bad fairy,
always a bad fairy.
Thistle: *crosses her arms* Hey, I’m
not a bad fairy!
Dusty: I know. I was just teasing
you.
Thistle: Well, it’s not funny, not
since someone is spreading rumors about me doing something really bad
that I didn’t do.
Dusty: I’m sorry. And I promise that
we’ll find the fairy who is spreading those rumors about you.
Thistle: Thanks. *sighs* So, what was
your favorite part of the Spring Festival?
Dusty: Hanging out with you and
looking at all the booths.
Thistle: I wish we could go back to
that day, before the rumors and before my dad went missing.
Dusty: That reminds me, I need to
check in with Sheriff Webbing to see if there’s any news on your dad. I’ll be
back soon!
*Dusty zips off*
Thistle: *shouts* OKUM-SOKUM!
EXCERPT:
“Hi, Thistle!”
The voice startles me, and I turn to see Dusty Withers.
Boogles! Dusty and I were once rivals. He and his sidekick Moss Kelp always
caused trouble and made me get blamed for it, earning me the nickname Bad
Fairy. After a twisty hit, destroying much of our grove, Dusty, Moss, and the
Flutters worked together to rebuild homes. Dusty and Moss proved to us they
changed. Since then, Dusty and I have become friends.
Ssh! Don’t tell anyone. That’ll be our secret for now.
I smooth down my skirt. I’m wearing a strawberry-colored
top and a green web skirt, making me look as though I’m a real strawberry, only
upside down. I hope he doesn’t notice. “Oh, hi,” is all I manage to say.
Dusty steps closer. “Do you want to share lunch with me? I
have a coverlet we can use, and food, of course.” He holds up a basket and
looks at me with hope bright in his brown eyes. I can’t help but notice how
cute he looks wearing a vine crown over his curly brown hair. He’s wearing a
clean shirt and knickers with brown leggings. Before, he used to wear ratty
shirts and dirty shorts from playing rough and getting into mischief.
Secretly, I want to go with him, but I can’t. Only Lacey
knows Dusty and I are hanging out.
“I…uh…” Fuddlebug! I can’t talk.
I try again. “I’m sorry, but I promised to eat with my mom
and dad.” My wings droop. “Then I have a Flutter Club meeting.”
Dusty puts on a grin, and says, “Moss and I could join you at
the meeting.”
“Sorry, but it’s a Flutter girls thing. I know you and Moss
are Flutter Helpers, but everything is good. If we need you two, we’ll call you
to a meeting.” I try to calm the twitching in my wings.
“Okay.” He smiles and gives me a wink before walking away.
PRIZES: 3 signed paperback picture books (Pea Soup Disaster, The Missing Alphabet, Slow Poke), three handmade bookmarks, plus a goodie bag and worksheets.
Elaine Kaye is the author of A Bad Fairy Adventure series AND A Gregory Green Adventure series. She first created Gregory Green after her son, who loved her homemade pea soup, thus inspiring the story Pea Soup Disaster.
Kaye has worked as a library assistant and teacher’s assistant in elementary schools in the Sunshine State. She currently lives in Florida, but she has called Michigan; Honolulu, Hawaii; and Okinawa, Japan home. She is a grandmother of three boys.
This post contains affiliate links. If you click through to make a purchase, I may make a small commission at no additional cost to you. Any amount I make goes towards my dream to host a book fair in Hampton Roads, VA. Please see my About page for more details. Thank you for your support.
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 #blacklivesmatter
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