January 29, 2012 at 11:55 pm (Uncategorized)

Whatever

Here are three questions I was recently asked about writing. I’m going to condense the questions, because when they were asked, they meandered across several paragraphs; they boil down to three sentences, which are:

When may you call yourself a writer? When may you call yourself a professional writer? When may you say you are a good writer?

These are three separate but related questions. Let’s start with the most fundamental.

When may you call yourself a writer?

I tend to be very small-c catholic on this question and say that if you write at all, you can consider yourself a writer. This annoys people who think that tweeting about your lunch or posting on Facebook that your cat horked up a hairball does not rise to the level of truewriting, but, look, writing is an act of setting down in words the things about which you have…

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Reaper IV: Daddy *FREE download until February 2, 2012*

January 29, 2012 at 6:35 pm (Uncategorized) (, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , )

Photo by Jimmy Thomas, romancenovelcovers.com

So…

……Reaper IV: Daddy is available at Amazon (Kindle format) for FREE from now until February 2, 2012!

You can get it at http://www.amazon.com/Reaper-IV-Daddy-ebook/dp/B0072QNG3I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327860950&sr=8-1

No reviews on it yet, so by all means, leave one once you’ve read it!

According to a Kindle Direct Publishing report, 450+ people have already downloaded it!

This is as close to childbirth that I ever want to get…breathing life into ideas and delivering them to the world in the form of an eBook for their amusement…

Enjoy!

Sincere regards and happy reading!

Amanda M. Holt

Amateur Authoress Who Slept in Until Noon *lol*

…(and who is now hoping to use her Sunday afternoon to do laundry and create some fiction!)

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Not sure whether to laugh or cry lol

January 23, 2012 at 8:10 am (Uncategorized) (, , , , , , , , , , , , , , )

So…

……I’ve recieved some good reviews for my Reaper series, some bad reviews, some great reviews, and some REALLY negative reviews.

Almost makes a girl wish she’d never encouraged readers to “post reviews, even if negative”.

One reader made comments regarding my lifestyle, somehow trying to draw a parallel between effectiveness as an author and effectiveness as a human being.  Suffice, to say, I replied to the review with as polite a comment as i could manage.

They were entitled to THEIR opinion – I nevertheless am also entitled to mine.

Had some really great reviews too…made me feel much better about this whole learning process.

After taking notes from the reviews, I am making a point of making the installments of the Reaper Series longer…as that seems to be the biggeest reader concern/annoyance so far.

That, and as much as I hate to do it, I think I am going to censor the adult/vulgar language a little – as that appears to be another (valid) concern/complaint.

So long as it doesn’t take away from the storyline, and doesn’t take away from the theme and voice of Reaper, I am willing to take critique and criticism into careful consideration.

With that being said, thank-you for your reviews —- keep em coming!

Sincere regards and happy reading!

Amanda M. Holt

Amateur Author and Fairly Reasonable Human Being

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Reaper III free promo January 22 – January 26

January 21, 2012 at 7:36 pm (Uncategorized) (, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , )

photo by Jimmy Thomas, RNC

So….

……..as you know, Reaper III: Rookies went live today….

…….and as I promised, there will be a 5 day free promotion period…

…….so I programmed it in to my promotions manager tool…………..

…….Reaper III will be available for FREE download January 22 – 26, on the heels of the free promos for Reaper 1 & 2…..

Sincere regards and happy reading!

Amanda M. Holt

Amateur Authoress, Fledgling Marketer and Night Shift Worker With An Ortho Appointment This Afternoon

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A not-so-secret secret…

January 21, 2012 at 9:47 am (Uncategorized) (, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , )

 

photo by Jimmy Thomas, RNC

So….

……..I’m uploading Reaper III: Rookies tonight! As in, within the next hour!

I have to work night shifts this weekend, so i’m staying up later tonight to adjust and am using my time wisely, being productive….

ANYWAY, just gotta write the blurb and whatnot, and Reaper III will be available for download on Amazon within about 48 hours.

As soon as I get my ducks in a row, I will figure out a good “free promotion” period (I’m thinking from Monday January 23 to Friday January 27….what do YOU think? I’m allotted five days, and am thinking maybe it’s best to get Reaper III out and known while there’s still interest brewing for Reaper I & II???)

So what will a reader find in Reaper III?

That Samantha Bennet has some very human feelings, concerns, and needs.

And that when she gets angry, she gets ruthless…

Anyway, hope you’re loving the series so far! I am!

Sincere regards and Happy Reading!

Amanda M. Holt

Amateur Authoress, Aspiring Household Horror Icon & Fairly Decent Human Being

p.s. – there’s romance too….just in time for the (love it or hate it) Valentine’s season…

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Reviews needed and appreciated! Feedback valued!

January 20, 2012 at 7:47 am (Uncategorized) (, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , )

So….

…….Reaper I: The Beginning has moved about 11000 free copies on Amazon and Reaper II: Neophyte has moved about 9400.

I am thrilled, amazed and humbled by the reader response!

Reaper: The Beginning currently sits at #1 position on Amazon.com Free->Occult listing! #76 overall for Free

Reaper II: Neophyte is sitting at — TAH DAH!!!! —- #2 position on Amazon.com for Free->Occult!!!! #88 overall for Free

Thank you thank you THANK YOU everyone who helped to make this possible!

One small request?

If you have read what you downloaded, please log in to your Amazon account and leave a review — whether “good” “bad” “positive” or “negative” — your feedback can/will only make me a better author in the long run, will likely serve to improve the quality of the novels/novellas I release and also serve to tell me what my readers love/hate most about my ideas and writing style.

It’s one of the ways i get to hear back!

So far, some of the themes reviewers are leaving are:

– stories are too short

– plot is great

– characters are believeable/likeable

-too much vulgar language

– not sure if target audience is teenagers or adults

– authentic thriller

– too much detail in description of flowers

And assorted other things.

Suffice to say, I am reading all reviews and carefully taking each one into consideration as I plod forth.

Once I finish releasing Reaper 1 – 5 as single titles, I am going to release Reaper 1 – 5 as a compilation at a discounted price, to try to alleviate some of the readers’ frustration with the novel length.  I will also work on making the series pieces longer, as this seems to be a frequent concern. However, for Reaper 1, 2 & 3 in particular, there is method to my madness — I wanted them to be DISTINCTLY seperate from the rest of the series…..I will try to adapt Reapers 4 & on to be longer. The thing is, where I see a naturally occuring break in the storyline, that is where I intend to seperate the tales….

I can’t please everyone, but if you leave me your reviews, I will try to make appropriate changes to my system of delivery….though not to my vision or my characters whims, such as they are.

Thank you so much for your continued interest in my projects!

Sincere regards and happy reading!

Amanda M. Holt

Amateur Authoress, Self-Proclaimed Work In Progress and Fairly Cooperative Human Being

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Reaper I: The Beginning and Reaper II: Neophyte LIVE on Amazon.com

January 12, 2012 at 2:16 pm (Uncategorized) (, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , )

photography by jimmy thomas

So….

……..I’ve uploaded Reaper I and II to Amazon.com!

They are on sale for 99 cents….and they will be given away for free January 17 – 21, 2012!

Either way, it’s a bit of a bargain!

Enjoy the first two books in my favorite of all my series!

Sincere regards and Happy Reading!

Amanda M. Holt

Amateur Author and Aspiring Household Horror Icon

p.s. – to check out Reaper I http://www.amazon.com/Reaper-I-The-Beginning-ebook/dp/B006VYHU7U/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1326377673&sr=8-13

p.p.s. – to check out Reaper II http://www.amazon.com/Reaper-II-Neophyte-ebook/dp/B006VYZHPW/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1326377236&sr=8-12

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