Search Results for: blog amazon shorts quick reads for cheap

Interview with My Fellow Pets Blogger and Mystery Author Courtney Mroch

Recently, Courtney and I decided it would be fun to interview each other. After all, we’re both writers and pet lovers. So read on, and learn something you maybe didn’t know about my awesome blogging partner, Courtney Mroch! Aimee: What kind of things do you write about? (Genre, subject matter, themes, what have you.) Courtney: I’m not prejudiced to any form of writing except maybe poetry (and that’s only ’cause I suck at it) so I pretty much write everything. Essays, short stories, novels, articles… Whatever notion my muse strikes me with, I run with it. As far as genre … Continue reading →

Using Amazon to Your Best Advantage

I love Amazon. I love browsing the site, reading the book descriptions, buying the books . . . sigh. It’s just a good thing all the way around. Are you familiar with the Amazon site? Are you getting all you can out of it? When you first open the page, you’ll see a list of departments down the left-hand side. You can buy tools, electronics, jewelry, and more, but for now, we’re just going to talk about the books. When you click on books, you’ll be given the choice of books, textbooks, magazines and newspapers, and Amazon shorts. Courtney did … Continue reading →

Amazon Shorts: Quick Reads for Cheap

Let me preface this blog with a disclaimer. I am an author with an Amazon Shorts title for sale. My intent is not to encourage sales, though. I recently had the opportunity to become a user of the service and was so impressed I wanted to spread the word. So I asked Tristi if I could guest blog about it and she said, “Sure!” (By the way, thanks again, Tristi!) Amazon.com is known for a bunch of services, but did you know they also publish and sell short stories? Well, they do, via their Amazon Shorts program. Finding the Amazon … Continue reading →

Sniplits: Downloadable Audio Short Stories

I am very excited to introduce you to Sniplits. Their tagline is “Audio Shorts 2 Go” and they mean it. Their stories are published DRM-free, making them compatible with any device that plays digital music, which means you can take them on the go with you wherever that may be! What Kind of Stories Does Sniplits Publish? Sniplits publishes a variety of genres. From Literary/Mainstream to Romance, Horror to Humor they’re sure to have a story that will appeal to any taste. (They even have a Tweens2Teens section.) Complete Listing of Sniplits’ Genre Categories Literary, Mainstream Adventure, Travel, Sports Humor … Continue reading →

Have You Heard about Kindle?

As if books weren’t wonderful enough already, Amazon has come up with a way to make them more portable. With the recent release of a product called “Kindle,” you can now take up to two hundred e-books with you wherever you go, but only lug around a machine less than the size of a paperback, at 10.3 ounces. I’ve seen steaks bigger than that! Kindle is like a large Palm Pilot. You upload your e-book and then retrieve the information on the screen. But the thing is, the Kindle screen is special. It’s designed to display to look as much … Continue reading →

Frugality and Great Danes: An Interview with Author Carolyn Howard-Johnson

What makes Carolyn Howard-Johnson so frugal? Why her series of “Frugal Books” of course! (A listing of them follows the end of the interview.) But this author also has a passion for Danes –as in the Great variety. I thought it was maybe because she was a Scooby-Doo nut, but, nope, a real life Great Dane got her hooked on the breed. Read on to learn more about author Carolyn Howard-Johnson and the pets in her life. Courtney Mroch: What kind of things do you write about? (Genre, subject matter, themes, what have you.) Carolyn Howard-Johnson: I write about anything … Continue reading →

Norwegian Elkhounds, Fat Cats, and Grey Mice: An Interview with Author Pat Harrington

Photo of Patricia Harrington and her dog Have you noticed a pattern this week? I’ve been posting lots of interviews with authors who have some kind of animal connection. Either because they incorporate animals into their writing, have pets who help with their writing, or, has been the case most often, have pets who help with their writing who also appear in it. I’m very pleased that my next victim –er, I mean subject—agreed to do this interview. She’s been a bit of a role model to me these past eight years. (Ever since I first got serious about writing.) … Continue reading →

The Power of the Press Release: How to Unleash It in Six Easy Steps

Once you understand the potential of a press release, it helps to know the best way to unleash its power. I like to use the following six steps. Step 1: Pinpoint Your News Item If you can’t do this, don’t bother proceeding to any other steps. You MUST have a news item to center your press release around. Period. Take mine for example. Last week I had two new writing credentials to promote: Casting On, Binding Off, my latest Amazon Shorts release and the Bylines 2008 calendar I’m part of. Most authors make the mistake of thinking a new release … Continue reading →

The Power of the Press Release: Understanding Its Potential

Press releases are perhaps the most valuable tool for garnering “free” press and publicity any business can employ. I put free in quotes because nothing is ever truly free, is it? You do have to invest time in writing and distributing press releases. (This is assuming you’re doing it yourself. If you hire out, well, then it’s definitely not free.) But that’s the beauty of press releases. They allow you to save money on marketing while potentially netting huge results because you can do it yourself. “Sounds nice, but they wouldn’t work for me.” I used to think that too. … Continue reading →

The Single Fantasy

National Singles Week runs from September 15-21. This year the National Singles Association is hosting events in Atlanta from September 17 thru 23. Unmarried America is also celebrating singles during the same time period, with what they call National Unmarried and Single Americans Week. “Why the fascination with Singles Week, Courtney? I thought you were happily married? And didn’t you just celebrate an anniversary?” Yes, I am happily married and, yes, we did just celebrate an anniversary, our 12th in fact. But sometimes I have this fantasy of what it would be like to be footloose and fancy free… The … Continue reading →