MUSINGS
It's the day before Thanksgiving, and to show you how much I'm thankful for all your support, I'm happy to announce there's a special promotion on my e-book In the Land of the Blind for immediate free download on Kindle. Currently it's only free in the US Kindle store, but will hopefully become free in the UK and other Kindle stores soon. Keep an eye out, and have a safe holiday weekend.
Halloween is right around the corner, and to celebrate, my Halloween-themed novella In Solemn Shades of Endless Night is free at Smashwords for the next week. So download it, read it, tell your friends, etc. Also, there's a new release coming very soon. My suggestion is to sign up for my newsletter if you haven't done so already, as there may or may not be something special included. (Damn it, I've already said too much!)
Some very exciting news broke over the weekend courtesy of Bill LeVasseur: the one and only Kevin Smith will be on the panel of judges for the Hint Fiction Film Contest next year at Vail. As someone who's seen almost all of Kevin Smith's films and is a fan, I'm super psyched about this.
From Robert Swartwood, the editor of the critically acclaimed Hint Fiction: An Anthology of Stories in 25 Words or Fewer, comes a collection of twenty-six very short stories, ranging from the real to the surreal.
Phantom Energy is 11,000 words long (view full table of contents here).
Praise for Phantom Energy:
"The zip fictions of Robert Swartwood's gorgeous Phantom Energy are as much about silent spaces as the inky depths of text, cluttered as they are with the disturbing exhaust of endless afterthought. These are overly animated pixels, antic antics, hyper-real really real reality on the sly sent reeling into the intimate spaces between the blanking stars."
-- Michael Martone, author of Michael Martone and Four for a Quarter
Phantom Energy can be purchased for 99 cent from the following ebookstores:
- Kindle (US)
- Kindle (UK)
- Kindle (Germany)
- Nook
- Smashwords
The collection can also be purchased as a small 100-page paperback in the next week or so from Amazon at the very low cost of $5.95. However, I wanted to do something special for this release, so I'm offering the following:
Buy the paperback of Phantom Energy directly from me and receive a personalized signed copy that contains a bonus two-word Hint Fiction story handwritten on the very last page. Not only that, I will also email you a digital file of the collection (mobi, epub, or pdf) to tide you over until the paperback arrives. And that's not all -- if you "pre-order" before October 15 and do one more little thing for me, I will also pay for shipping, both domestically and internationally.
What's that "one more little thing"?
Simply help spread the word. Link to this post on your blog, on Twitter or Facebook or Google + or wherever. If you give me a link, I'll give you free shipping.
So if you want a signed copy of Phantom Energy with a bonus two-word Hint Fiction story handwritten on the last page as well as a free ebook copy, PayPal me $6 at robert (at) robertswartwood (dot) com before October 15 and tell me where you linked this post to.
If you want a signed copy of Phantom Energy with a bonus two-word Hint Fiction story handwritten on the last page as well as a free ebook copy but don't want to help spread the word, PayPal me $8 at robert (at) robertswartwood (dot) com for all domestic shipping, $12 for all international shipping.
Remember, folks, this offer is only good until October 15.
Oh, and there will be a small giveaway via Goodreads starting on October 15 too, so if you want to wait and try your luck winning a free copy then instead, I understand, but be aware that those copies will not include the bonus two-word Hint Fiction story. Just sayin'.
I do, however, know when I'll be back again. Which is next week, because tomorrow I'm flying out to Columbia, Missouri for their art show of Hint Fiction (here's an article that ran a few days ago about the show which even shows some of the pieces). I will of course be tweeting my adventures but otherwise it will be pretty quiet here on this ol' blog. In case you're interested, here's my schedule for the next two days:
Thursday
5pm: Reading and book signing at the Columbia Art League (CAL).
6-8pm: Opening reception at CAL
Friday
8.45: Radio interview on KFRU
9.30: Lee Expressive Art School to give a reading to elementary kids, who will be working on their own Hint Fiction stories and artworks
12.30: Reading at the University Bookstore
3pm: Reading at the Daniel Boone Regional Library
Columbia is where the awesome Scott Garson resides, so I hope to catch up with him too.
Finally, today is the very last day to enter to win a free trade paperback copy of The Serial Killer's Wife at Goodreads. Will there be another giveaway soon? Perhaps ...
