The Indie Mine » Book News

Empower: Fight Like A Girl to Fund Lupus Foundation of America

Brandon Schmidt — Wed, 07 May 2014 23:28:57 +0000

In support of Lupus Awareness Month, we’re posting the following guest post from Jennifer Quintenz, author of the Daughters of Lilith book series. Many women authors have pulled together to create Empower: Fight Like A Girl and proceeds from the book’s sales will go to the Lupus Foundation of America. For more information, be sure to check out the guest post below including the recently-revealed cover image.

Amazon
Goodreads

Praise for Empower: Fight Like A Girl

“Even non-girls will feel empowered by these stories about ordinary, flawed characters finding their own strengths. Highly entertaining and original.”

- Lee Goldberg, New York Times bestselling author of The Chase and King City, whose mother lost her hearing to lupus.

Women of TV have united against lupus! Presenting Empower: Fight Like A Girl, a special collection of short stories by top women writers from some of your favorite shows, including: Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Family Guy, Person of Interest, Grimm, Battlestar Galactica, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Law & Order: SVU, Star Trek: Voyager, Eureka, Twisted, The 100, Malcolm in the Middle, Millennium, Being Human, The Shield, Castle, Chuck, Gilmore Girls, and Game of Thrones. In this anthology, you’ll discover supernatural thrillers, crime mysteries, horror, comedies, and more.

Authors contributing stories to this volume include:

All proceeds will be donated to the Lupus Foundation of America to help solve the cruel mystery of lupus.

Announcing the Fiction Frolic bookraiser and giveaway

Brandon Schmidt — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 01:13:43 +0000

Help Raise 1,000 books for charity and enter to win $200, signed books and swag!

We are excited to share about an ambitious blog tour—Fiction Frolic for All Hallow’s Read—where ten authors from several genres are working hard to raise 1,000 books in three weeks for Books for America.

From October 1st to 19th, donate a new book (or books!) and earn extra bonus points in a huge giveaway that these authors are hosting.

Two winners will each receive the following PRIZES!

$100 Amazon G.C.

5 signed books from the authors hosting the event

A swag bag

Plus—in honor of All Hallow’s read, gift a signed copy of one of our books to a friend!

With a total of $200, 12 signed books (including the gifted books) and major swag, what better way is there to raise books for charity and celebrate All Hallow’s Read?

Each author participating is also donating signed copies of their books to Books for America, an awesome charity that is officially sponsoring their event and excited to be involved with All Hallow’s Read. In 2011, Books for America donated more than $800,000 worth of books and materials to DC area schools, shelters and dozens of other educational programs and organizations.

The authors are blogging throughout the event at The Fiction Frolic Blog.

10/1-5 Read about how books shaped their love for reading and writing.
10/8-12 Read their scariest, funniest or craziest Halloween experiences, or learn about their favorite Halloween themed book or movie, or favorite work of “dark” literature.
10/15-19 Enjoy some flash fiction, short stories and novel excerpts.

So donate, share, and look for daily ways to enter to win. Donate to charity for bonus points!.

This event is sponsored by:

Eleanor T Beaty, author of the YA paranormal Veiled Mist

Brewin’ author of the supernatural horror, The Dark Horde

Andy Gavin, author of the fantasy horror, The Darkening Dream

Laxmi Hariharan, author of the YA fantasy, The Destiny of Shaitan

Kimberly Kinrade, author of the YA paranormal thriller/romances, Forbidden Mind & Forbidden Fire

Richard Long, author of the supernatural thriller/horror, The Book of Paul

M.C. Mars, author of the mind-bending novel, Burner

Melissa McPhail, author of epic fantasy Cephrael’s Hand

Sheryl Steines, author of She Wulf & Days of First Sun

Pavarti K Tyler., author of the Lit Fic Shadow on the Wall and the erotic horror Consumed by Love

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Author Bill Cokas Releases Pair of Humorous Suspense Titles

Brandon Schmidt — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 10:34:21 +0000

Author Bill Cokas has had a busy 2012 from his home base in North Carolina. Already this year the ad man turned novel writer has released a pair of satirical novels in the form of Ring of Fire and Battle Axe.

Drawing comparisons to the works of Miami-based author Carl Hiaasen, these two novels take the reader on adventures all the way from North Carolina to Europe with a number of quirky, flawed characters revealed along the way. Check out the summaries below then head on over to Cokas’ author page on Amazon for reviews or to pick up either novel. Both titles are currently available in either Kindle or paperback formats.

Seeking refuge from a corporate scandal, Wally Gibbs trades his corner office in Chicago for a tweed jacket with elbow patches in a quaint college town. He soon realizes he wasn’t meant to teach marketing; he was meant to reinvent it. And the timing is right. To Wally’s perverse delight, the economy has brought consumers everywhere to their knees. In Wally’s own words, “people are so desperate to lop thirty cents off a cantaloupe, they’d give a urine sample at the checkout.” During a routine colonoscopy, he envisions a new hyper-efficient marketing vehicle, which he labels “Project Argus.”

As Wally ensnares his unsuspecting students in the beta test, Project Argus catches the attention of eight-fingered frustrated campus policeman Nick Pappas. Sensing a connection to an unsolved student death, Nick becomes obsessed with exposing the scheme, even “deputizing” student cartoonist Zak Dawson to do the digging he can’t. The pair follows Wally to a tiny Greek island, where he acquires a rare exotic gem that he smuggles back home and turns over to a local jeweler. Within a few days, the hottest-selling graduation ring in the school’s history is quietly collecting data—and claiming lives.

Ring of Fire is a quirky suspense full of wry social satire, combining offbeat characters, a contemporary twisted plot and a setting that’s equal parts academia and Aegean Sea. Those who appreciate the offbeat characters and unconventional plots of Carl Hiaasen, Tim Dorsey and Janet Evanovich should thoroughly enjoy Ring of Fire.

When his father plays the sax, he blows crowds away. But when Dorsey Duquesne picks up a guitar, he simply blows. Though he’s a wealthy software entrepreneur, music just isn’t in his blood—and neither is his father’s DNA. When his mother Cherry reveals (at his father’s funeral, of all places) he was adopted at birth, Dorsey’s tin ear suddenly makes sense. But it also leaves the 40-year-old questioning his identity. Emotionally adrift, he hires a one-eyed strip-mall detective, hoping the missing pieces will provide the peace he’s been missing. Meanwhile Cherry, along with Dorsey’s wife and best friend, are colluding to keep him from finding the long-buried truth about his “adoption.”

A yellowed, anonymous letter leads the vulnerable Dorsey to a dusty vineyard in the Black Forest—and straight to a jitterbugging, strudel-baking redhead named Mitzi, who claims to be his birth mother. Employing a well-rehearsed charm, she slowly wins him over—and away from his family. While in Germany, and with the help of the axe-wielding village night watchman, Dorsey does some long-overdue growing up. But will his eyes open in time to see his new “mom” has a darker agenda? And will he realize the true definition of family before it’s too late?

Battle Axe is an offbeat, suspenseful novel that places quirky, flawed characters in unwelcome situations. Adopted or “normal,” readers will find something to relate to and someone to root for. Readers who appreciate the colorful characters and unconventional plots of Carl Hiaasen, Janet Evanovich and Tim Dorsey should thoroughly enjoy Battle Axe.

The Darkening Dream Sale and Giveaway

Brandon Schmidt — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 10:50:17 +0000

It’s a big week for author Andy Gavin here on The Indie Mine as we cover a bunch of news surrounding his first novel The Darkening Dream. Below you’ll find an announcement straight from Andy for an Amazon sale and information about a giveaway via Rafflecopter. You can also check out our interview with him here. Supernatural fantasy and horror fans rejoice!

A Vampire Novel with Actual Bite!

As the modern world establishes itself and pushes the supernatural into the shadows, the supernatural fights back.

The Darkening Dream is a chilling new dark fantasy novel by Andy Gavin, creator of Crash Bandicoot and Jak & Daxter. The book has received rave reviews and is on sale for only 99 cents on Amazon Kindle from June 25th-29th! Download your copy here.

In addition, Andy is doing a big giveaway, including a $100 gift certificate to Amazon, signed copies of his books, video games, posters, and more!

The Darkening Dream Rafflecopter Giveaway
Tweet, like, follow, share, blog and grab a copy of his book to enter.

Get your 99 cent copy of The Darkening Dream today on Amazon only.

Long-time readers of dark historical fantasy (Tim Powers, Guy Gavriel Kay, Katherine Kurtz) will appreciate the weaving together of mythology, occult, and religion, while younger readers and fans of HBO dramas (True Blood, Carnivàle) or urban fantasy (Laurell K. Hamilton, Kim Harrison, Jim Butcher) will be drawn to the twisted imagination, graphic action, and romantic tension.

About The Darkening Dream

Even as the modern world pushes the supernatural aside in favor of science and steel, the old ways remain. God, demon, monster, and sorcerer alike plot to regain what was theirs.

1913, Salem, Massachusetts – Sarah Engelmann’s life is full of friends, books, and avoiding the pressure to choose a husband, until an ominous vision and the haunting call of an otherworldly trumpet shake her. When she stumbles across a gruesome corpse, she fears that her vision was more of a premonition. And when she sees the murdered boy moving through the crowd at an amusement park, Sarah is thrust into a dark battle she does not understand.

With the help of Alex, an attractive Greek immigrant who knows a startling amount about the undead, Sarah sets out to uncover the truth. Their quest takes them to the factory mills of Salem, on a midnight boat ride to spy on an eerie coastal lair, and back, unexpectedly, to their own homes. What can Alex’s elderly, vampire-hunting grandfather and Sarah’s own rabbi father tell them? And what do Sarah’s continuing visions reveal?

No less than Gabriel’s Trumpet, the tool that will announce the End of Days, is at stake, and the forces that have banded to recover it include a 900 year-old vampire, a trio of disgruntled Egyptian gods, and a demon-loving Puritan minister. At the center of this swirling cast is Sarah, who must fight a millennia-old battle against unspeakable forces, knowing the ultimate prize might be her very soul.

The Reviews Are In

“A vampire novel with actual bite.” ~The Kirkus Reviews

“A gorgeously creepy, strangely humorous, and sincerely terrifying tale.” ~Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

“Mr. Gavin has brought something refreshingly new to a genre now suffused with poorly-concealed bodice-rippers which have more in common with Fabio than Bram Stoker: depth. His big baddies are scary, not romantic interests, and the added religious lore is complex and engaging. Don’t expect another Twilight — the story can get downright creepy, so be prepared for a return to the old horror sensibilities of supernatural fiction.” ~Amazon Review

“With Mr. Gavin’s video-game pedigree, I was expecting something aimed squarely at the 18-25 year old fanboy contingent; what I got in The Darkening Dream was something wholly unexpected: A period novel with a female protagonist, a crash-course on Judaism in the colonial years, and multi-layered series of plot arcs featuring a crazy cast of natural and supernatural characters populating turn of the century America.” ~Amazon Review

“…A perfect blend of mystery, magic and myth. A grown-up Grimm’s fairy tale… emphasis on grim.” ~Amazon Review

Read the first two sample chapters here.

Get your 99 cent copy of The Darkening Dream today on Amazon only.

About the Author

Andy Gavin is an unstoppable storyteller who studied for his Ph.D. at M.I.T. and founded video game developer Naughty Dog, Inc. at the age of fifteen, serving as co-president for two decades. There he created, produced, and directed over a dozen video games, including the award winning and best selling Crash Bandicoot and Jak & Daxter franchises, selling over 40 million units worldwide. He sleeps little, reads novels and histories, watches media obsessively, travels, and of course, writes. Find out more here.

Cops, Crooks & Other Stories in 100 Words: 101 Tales Released

Brandon Schmidt — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 11:04:52 +0000

Pulpy detective stories are a genre of books that are right in my wheelhouse. The plot twists and intense action make for an exciting roller coaster experience that ebbs and flows from start to finish. However, author Mark S. Bacon is part of a new movement: flash fiction.

On March 30th he’ll release his novel Cops, Crooks & Other Stories in 100 Words: 101 Tales. It’s a collection of mini mysteries each running about 100 words, and each tale promises “satisfying, unexpected endings”. A number of stories in the collection have been published in a variety of fiction magazines - Stymie Magazine and MicroHorror being a couple examples – tailored to the short story style.

101 Tales will be released through Amazon(Kindle) and the Barnes and Noble Nook Store.

Here is a sample from the book directly from Bacon’s website:

Honor Among Thieves

The darkened home looked empty. Pete tried the front door. Locked. Around back he jimmied open a patio door with a credit card.

Immediately, he saw a man holding a pillowcase full of something.

“Shit. You startled me,” the man said. “First time I ever seen two guys break into the same house. I came in the window. But hey, I believe in professional courtesy. I’ve got jewelry and laptops. Rest is yours.”

Pete opened a drawer, reached inside.

“Hold it,” Pete said, pointing a revolver.

“What about professional courtesy?”

“I forgot my keys, “ Pete said. “I live here.”

Announcing The Amelia Academy: Standards

Brandon Schmidt — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 10:57:48 +0000

If you’re into caped crusaders and supervillains, you might want to check out a recently-released novel from indie author Paul Mundane titled The Amelia Academy: Standards.

A quote from author Paul Mundane:

“The Amelia Academy: Standards is my No Prize letter to the comic industry. It’s written for everyone, but aimed at those who survived the Iron Age of comics mostly intact. More importantly; Standards is a fun read. It hits home on several well known tropes, but stays original and true to itself. It is also the beginning of something much bigger: The Amelia Academy: Homeroom is already in production, and slotted for release early November, 2012.”

Check out the teaser synopsis below and then go check out the book on Smashwords. Standards is currently available on Smashwords for $4.99 and will eventually be making its way into other bookstores and digital distributors like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Apple. It is currently available in Kindle, Epub, and a variety of other digital formats.

Chris Stand was once Kid Standard, sidekick to the most powerful superhuman on the planet. Chris left it all behind him a decade ago, and had happily slumped into obscurity since then. Chris finds himself dragged again into the world of flights and tights, when an ex-villain offers him a teaching position at The Amelia Academy: a school for metahuman youth.

Old friends and enemies rise from Chris’ past. The line between hero and villain quickly blurs. Soon, Chris finds himself defending the academy from a plot to destroy the fledgling school before it can open its doors.

Within Ruin Signed Giveaway

Brandon Schmidt — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 17:39:27 +0000

Fantasy author Darrell Drake is offering a free giveaway of two signed copies of his novel Within Ruin. The contest is open to anyone in the United States or Canada and the rest of the rules are also included below.

To enter you must:

“Like” the Facebook page.
+1 the Google+ page.
Retweet this tweet.

You can enter up to three times and the contest will end February 19th at 19:00 EST. Drake will announce the winners at that time.

If you’d rather just buy the book outright, the e-book version had been reduced in price from $4.99 to $2.99USD.

Darkening Dream Free Giveaway

Brandon Schmidt — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 04:24:15 +0000

Who doesn’t love free stuff? We at The Indie Mine sure do, and we imagine you do as well. So you might be interested to know that The Darkening Dream, a novel by Andy Gavin, will be available for free for 48 hours in Amazon’s Kindle store. Check out the press release below for more information, then head on over to Amazon.com and support the indie community.

FREE Two Days Only: A Vampire Novel with Actual Bite!

As the modern world establishes itself and pushes the supernatural into the shadows, the supernatural fights back.

The Darkening Dream is a chilling new dark fantasy novel by Andy Gavin, creator of Crash Bandicoot and Jak & Daxter, that has received rave reviews on Amazon and Goodreads and is FREE for two days only on Amazon Kindle (February 7^th to 8^th)! Download your FREE copy here: http://amzn.to/yTvZPG

Long-time readers of dark historical fantasy (Tim Powers, Guy Gavriel Kay, Katherine Kurtz) will appreciate the weaving together of mythology, occult, and religion, while younger readers and fans of HBO dramas (True Blood,Carnivàle) or urban fantasy (Laurell K. Hamilton, Kim Harrison, Jim Butcher) will be drawn to the twisted imagination, graphic action, and romantic tension.

About The Darkening Dream

Even as the modern world pushes the supernatural aside in favor of science and steel, the old ways remain. God, demon, monster, and sorcerer alike plot to regain what was theirs.

1913, Salem, Massachusetts – Sarah Engelmann’s life is full of friends, books, and avoiding the pressure to choose a husband, until an ominous vision and the haunting call of an otherworldly trumpet shake her. When she stumbles across a gruesome corpse, she fears that her vision was more of a premonition. And when she sees the murdered boy moving through the crowd at an amusement park, Sarah is thrust into a dark battle she does not understand.

The Reviews Are In

“A vampire novel with actual bite.” ~The Kirkus Reviews

“…A perfect blend of mystery, magic and myth. A grown-up Grimm’s fairy tale…emphasis on grim.” ~Amazon Review

Read the first two sample chapters here >> http://bit.ly/xXVxXS

Get your FREE copy of The Darkening Dream for two days only on Amazon here. http://amzn.to/yTvZPG

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