All Blog Posts Tagged 'middle' (189)

Finishing a new book is like giving birth to a child (yeah, I know this analogy has been done to death). And as I finish my latest, I’m feeling especially proud of my newest child. Not only for the accomplishment of finishing my twelfth book but because it is exactly the book (and baby) that I wanted to write.

What do I mean by this? Since I indie published my first book in 2011, I’m been slowly catering my plots and stories to what I want to write and not the stories I think…

Sitting down for the final full read of my latest book AS IT IS IN HEAVEN, I am reminded of the events leading to this point. Although the book is not as long as I envisioned (only @ 20,000 words) the novella has communicated the story I wished to express. It is complete.

I wrote the first sentence to this novella on April 12^th 2014. I wrote what I consider to be the last completed scene on December 1^st 2014. This is an usually long time for me to write…

As I’m putting the finishing touches on my latest novella, AS IT IS IN HEAVEN, I am also getting ready to spend the winter months holed up and marketing my other twelve books. I do this intensive marketing every year around this time because the cold weather keeps me inside and guilt free.

I’ve been reading a lot of writer’s forums lately and there seems to be a bit of pessimism in the air regarding the state of indie publishing and publishing in general. Mark Coker CEO of…

Is it cold where you are? Is air carrying a bit of a chill? How about getting a little chillier with a good book? FROSTPROOF is available free for one more day on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0083WSXL0

In the mood for a little more chill. DEGENERATES is also free until tomorrow on Amazon.

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          Being a writer means experiencing dizzying highs and terrifying lows as a novel transforms from mere idea bubbling in the brain into reality on the page. There are times when you believe that everything you’ve written is total crap and there are times when a character reveals something or does something that you hadn’t expected and you find yourself on this emotional high.

          Emotions can swing greatly from one day to the next (sometimes hourly). Today is a good day…

Since I started this blog nearly four years ago, I never in my dreams thought that it would receive several hundred thousand views. My base of followers has grown steadily and my page views per day are increasing nearly every week. I would like to thank all of my followers and interested readers for that.

Looking back years ago at my first few posts, I can clearly see an old-soul writer trying to understand a twenty-first century technological world. Many of those first…

Nice new review for DROP OUT. The book is really affecting lives!

Read what Kindle Nation Daily called "the sleeper hit of the year" what Kindle Fire Department called, "riveting, touching, and deeply heartwarming, a book that will stay with you forever"; an Indie Book of the Day winner in 2012.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005FX0K7U

5.0 out of 5 stars An extraordinary, moving story of…

A few days have passed since my Kindle Books and Tips promotion for DROP OUT  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005FX0K7U  has finished and I must say the results weren’t that bad. Though I have said in the past that I don’t believe paid promotion on websites has a return on investment and are good for exposure purposes only, this one seems to have paid out.

DROP OUT sold several dozen more copies on that day than it usually does so I…

Wanted to announce that DROP OUT is being featured today on Kindle Books and Tips!  What would you do if you knew your life was ending? http://wp.me/p2b82w-69U Please check it out. Much appreciated.

Woke up this morning to the first frost of the year. It’s winter writing time. I always look forward to the cold and snow and the isolation they bring. Though I do enjoy the sun, swimming, and warmth of summer it is not my best season for being creative. I found there’s nothing more stimulating than punching out a story while a snowstorm rages outside.

Winter is also the time when I do my best and most prolific marketing and promotion of my books. It’s always hard to spend hours…

When you buy a book in a bookstore, what do you look for? Is it the cover that attracts you? The fiery description on the back? The author’s profile picture? With ebooks, consumers can’t take it off the shelf and feel its texture, skim through the pages, or get a sense of the thickness and how long it will take to read. They must rely on the ‘look inside’ feature, good unbiased reviews, a blurb that excites and entices, and the promise of a captivating story to make their…

If you follow my blog you’ve probably noticed that I haven’t been posting about many promotions these days. Except for a few websites that have posted my books without informing me first, I haven’t been too visible for a while. Here’s why.

I’ve been writing ferociously for the last 35 out of my 45 years on this planet. Yep, that officially makes me a middle-aged man. You learn a lot about yourself and your needs and what makes you happiest as you get older. Things become…

September 19, 2014 (CLEVELAND, OH) – Ali Maier’s new children’s book Mom Made Us Write This In The Summer inspires kids to read and journal and highlights the importance of sibling relationships. The title just received the 2014 International Book Awards recognition as the winner in Children’s Fiction and is already highly regarded in its genre. Maier dives into…

It’s been a while since I posted about my latest project, so here goes. AS IT IS IN HEAVEN is nearly complete! Yeah! I call it an inspirational fantasy along the lines of DROP OUT, but with a more spiritual theme. I won’t kid you, some scenes are quite intense, but I believe it is crucial to the story to shock the reader enough to stop and make them think.

There are also a few more sites that I am placing my other books. I was informed about these sites from my awesome online writers…

Mom Made Us Write This In The Summer is a children’s book by Ali Maier, written for ages 8 – 12.

A sister and brother, forced to write in the summer, and share ONE journal? Ugh.

This is exactly what happens to 10-year-old twins Maggie and Max Pruitt. When Mom comes up with a plan for them to keep a summer journal, Maggie and Max can’t…

I’m involved in a review program with Choosy Bookworm.com where DROP OUT was sent to @35 top Amazon reviewers who post their reviews on a number of websites reaching a huge audience. So far, so good. Here are just a few of the headers. Check out the rest at –

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005FX0K7U

Thanks.

5.0 out of 5 stars BELIEVE!!! Amazing!!, August 25, 2014

By …

It’s been an interesting week for me and my books. First, I’m involved in a review program with Choosy Bookworm.com. So far nearly thirty copies of DROP OUT and about ten copies of THE END TIME have been sent to anonymous reviews who promise to post an honest review on Amazon and Goodreads in exchange for a free copy of the book. The reviews are just now coming in and all I can say is “Wow”. It’s nice to know that and read how much people like the stories. Check out the new 5-stars for…

Okay, so I’ve unpublished all my books except two from Smashwords to concentrate on working promotions with Amazon and have been busy getting my stuff out there. Joining Kindle Unlimited and KDP Select is a risk and it does put small limits on my sales outlets but I still think it is the right move at the right time in book publishing today.

Here’s what I’ve got coming up in the next 30 days.

On August 18 – 25 both my five-book and four-book Omnibuses will be…

After almost a solid month of plotting, characterization, pacing, and creating setting, I finally wrote the last sentence to my new novel before I start the revision process. Feeling elated I sat back in my office desk chair and beamed, enjoying the pleasurable sensations of finishing this stage of the project. Then suddenly, I was stricken with horror. I had written the story to completion. There was nothing more I could say or add to the story. It was done in my mind.

But……