Robert Ford is one cool cat. Not only is he the author of the wonderful novella Samson and Denial, he also penned the recent zombie novel The Compound. Bob took some time out of his busy schedule to sit down with me and discuss his work, the craft of writing, and even offer up three digital copies of The Compound. To find out how you can win, listen and enjoy! (Note: you may have to turn the volume up a bit for this one.)
I'm Part Of The 1%
So this morning I get an email from Goodreads alerting me to the fact that I'm in the top 1% of reviewers on Goodreads. Cool!
But here's the thing -- I don't review that much. I mean, I rate the books I read, sure, and sometimes I'll leave a few sentences for a review, but that's it.
Currently my "read" bookshelf only hosts 663 books.
In my mind that ain't a lot to put me near the top 1% of reviews on a site that touts the fact it has over 20 million members.
Now don't get me wrong -- I like Goodreads a lot. The fact that Amazon bought them never rubbed me the wrong way like it did a lot of other people. Amazon owns a lot of major websites you might not even be aware of -- IMDb is the first to come to mind -- and while they might own it, they generally don't make it Amazon-centric. In fact, I also received an email from Goodreads today telling me that a new Dave Robicheaux novel just came out. At the bottom of the email were buy links. Amazon was listed, yes, but so were Barnes & Noble and iTunes. And guess what -- those links actually take you to Barnes & Noble and iTunes! *GASP*
Anyway, my point?
If I'm truly in the top 1% of reviewers on Goodreads with only 663 books read (that's not all the books I've read throughout my life, of course, just many that I've remembered and thought to add, though there are also times when I don't list books I've read for one reason or another), then just what are the other 20 million users doing exactly? How many books are they reading? What exactly are most of the users doing other than spamming other users with their latest self-published book?
Anyone else in the top 1% reviewers on Goodreads?
No?
Well then -- IN YOUR FACE!
The Calling For A Buck
For a limited time -- today, tomorrow, and Wednesday -- you can pick up my first novel The Calling for only 99 cents on Kindle (UK readers click here), Nook, and iTunes.
Also, until the end of the month, you can enter to win a copy of the paperback from Goodreads.
And hey, did I mention The Calling is now an audiobook?
Walk The Sky On Nook And Kobo
Last week Walk the Sky became available on Nook and Kobo but I didn't mention it here so ... now I did. It will be available on Smashwords and iTunes at some point, but honestly, I don't think there's any hurry. If anyone reading this uses either of those platforms and wants to read the book immediately, let me know and we'll work something out.
Today Is David B. Silva's Birthday
Today is David Silva's birthday, and as you know he passed away several months ago. Still, his Facebook account is still active, which means Facebook is notifying all his friends that today is his birthday, which means some dimwits have been posting inane birthday screeds on his wall. Not all of them, mind you (some clearly know he's dead and are saying how much they miss him), but there are others with such posts: "Happy Birthday David! Hope you have a fantastic day and hope all your wishes come magically true!" and "Happy Birthday and many more! Consider yourself birthday-spanked!" See that right there, people?
That's my middle finger, right in your face.