SmokeLong Quarterly's 30th issue is this December. To celebrate, they're having a special 30-word story contest. The top five stories picked will be published in the issue. Oh, and the person judging the contest? Yours truly. Submissions open November 1st. Details here.
In Solemn Shades Of Endless Night
"Halloween night. A battle between good and evil, darkness and light. The blurring of reality. A touch of trust and betrayal. The burden of the past on present and future generations. Robert Swartwood's In Solemn Shades of Endless Night has it all. A classic Halloween tale that will keep you turning the pages."
--- David B. Silva, author of The Shadows of Kingston Mills
In Solemn Shades of Endless Night is a 14,000-word story about a man trapped in perpetual Halloween night who must make the ultimate choice: to save himself or the world. Now available as an ebook for $1.99 at the usual places:
- Amazon (US)
- Amazon (UK)
- Smashwords
Please feel free to add it to your shelves at Goodreads.
Fun fact: the novelette's title is taken from a Shakespeare play. Any guesses which one?
Do E-Book Coupons Work?
One of the things Smashwords lets you do that Amazon does not is generate your own coupon codes. It's a great promotional tool that I never really considered using until now. Because for a very limited time, you can purchase the special edition of Through the Guts of a Beggar (which contains an alternate ending and two bonus short stories) for only 99 cents. That's 50% off the regular price. Use coupon code FF28K. Offer expires this Saturday, October 2nd. Have at it!
Coming This Halloween
"Halloween night. A battle between good and evil, darkness and light. The blurring of reality. A touch of trust and betrayal. The burden of the past on present and future generations. Robert Swartwood's In Solemn Shades of Endless Night has it all. A classic Halloween tale that will keep you turning the pages."
--- David B. Silva, author of The Shadows of Kingston Mills
The Monkeybicycle Lightning Round! Reading Series
This new quarterly reading series fuses quick, high energy readings with a broad range of voices--both established and emerging--into a seamless hour of literary brilliance. Each event will feature 20 readers, each of whom will read no longer than three minutes before introducing the next reader. No interruption from the host means a continuous listening experience. No guidelines other than length means maximum variety of form and content. Monkeybicycle's Lightning Round! Reading Series: a cure for the common reading.
OCTOBER 22ND, 7pm, KGB Bar, New York City
Not sure yet what I'll read. Maybe some hint fiction pieces? I do only have three minutes. If you're in the area that night, make sure to stop by!