Quotable Tuesday

It's Tuesday, and it's the day my publisher likes for us to post quotes from one of our books. Today I've selected an excerpt from my steampunk adventure, Cannibal Island. As we join Richie Armstrong and Angus Callahan in the library of the Armstrong Estate, Angus is relating the story...

Angus patted the monkey’s head and leaned back in his chair. “You see, it was more than a fog bank. It was an island. An uncharted one. Had we known in advance that an island existed in that location, we could have dropped anchor and perhaps prevented what happened next. Nevertheless, we didn’t realize it was anything more substantial than a cloud of mist—until the ship ran aground. Several crewmembers were thrown overboard because of the sudden stop when our keel hit the rocky reef. Those of us fortunate enough to have remained on deck began tossing lines into the water. But it was of no use.”

“Why not?” I interrupted. “Surely they could swim to the ship and get back aboard.”

“There wasn’t time. In the darkness, with the fog covering the sea like a thick blanket, we couldn’t see the sharks. But we could quite easily hear the frantic splashing and the terrible screams of our mates as they lost a leg or an arm to those ravenous beasts. Fortunately, it didn’t last long. In a short time, the screaming stopped and became nothing more than a fading memory.”

Back Cover Blurb Finished ...

Whew! It wasn't easy. I never realized that a back cover blurb could be so difficult to come up with, especially if you're trying to grab the reader's attention and encourage them to read the book, all the while keeping it under 150 words. No easy task.

But, since we're talking about the old back cover blurb, I thought I would post it here for you. Hopefully, you'll be interested, intrigued, and curious. Let's see...

It’s the turn of the century, and dirigibles are the modern mode of travel. One of them is shadowing The Seahorse as it sails toward a fog-shrouded island off the coast of Peru, bringing young Richie Armstrong ever nearer to the legendary Incan treasure—and the mysterious Golden Disk.

A strange chain of events has convinced Richie that the airship is being piloted by his archrival—the greedy, oily-haired Hans Von Hisle. Although Richie has in his possession the only known map to the location of the island, would Hans even need a map to spot the island from his lofty perch among the clouds?

It’s a race against time. If Hans reaches the island first, Richie knows the Golden Disk and the precious possibility it holds for changing his past will be lost forever. But there's something else on the island—something that may change his future. And they're bloodthirsty.


Now, after reading that, if your interest is piqued, and you just simply have to read the book, it's currently available in digital format at AMAZON and at BARNES & NOBLE.

My publisher is also doing a promotional Limited Edition Print version that will be coming soon. So keep watching this blog for an opportunity to win a signed copy of a new steampunk adventure—Cannibal Island.

QR Technology and Book Sales

Will the new innovations never end? I've just received something called a QR code from my publisher, Musa Publishing. This code will be imprinted on the back cover of my soon-to-be-released Limited Edition Promotional Print Run for Cannibal Island.

In case you're wondering what the QR code is all about, let me 'splain it briefly based on my own limited understanding. If you have an iPhone or a Smartphone, you can download an app called QR Scanner (it's free). Once you have that, simply open the app and point your camera lens at any QR or bar code on any product. The phone will read the information and give you the option to connect to a website where you can get more information or purchase the product. It's that simple and that amazing.

If you have the QR app in your phone, try it now. Point it at the QR code on this post and see if it takes you to the website.

Ever hear of Grace Metalious?

She was the author of a 1956 novel that sold 60,000 copies within the first ten days of its release and remained on the New York Times best seller list for 59 weeks. It was adapted as both a 1957 film and a 1964–69 television series.

The novel was Peyton Place. I was fortunate today to be at a family reunion in Marshall, Missouri. The facility was a senior center that we rent every year. This year, it appeared the center was preparing for a book sale. Hundreds of books were piled on the front table, and I picked up one of them while waiting for our lunch to be served. I recognized the title, and began reading. I was immediately struck by the beauty of the writing. So vivid and descriptive, and using the perfect word choices in every sentence. It was golden. I loved it.

For your enjoyment, I have managed to locate the opening and pasted it below. Take a moment to read it. If you're a writer, this is an excellent example of how to draw a reader in.

Indian Summer is like a woman. Ripe, hotly passionate, but fickle; she comes and goes as she pleases, so that one is never sure whether she will come at all nor for how long she will stay.

In Northern New England, Indian Summer puts up a scarlet-tipped hand to hold winter back for a while. She brings with her the time of the last warm spell, an uncharted season until Winter moves in with its backbone of ice and accouterments of leafless trees and hard, frozen ground.

Those grown old, who have had the youth bled from them by the jagged edged winds of winter, know sorrowfully that Indian Summer is a sham to be met with hard-eyed cynicism.

But the young wait anxiously, scanning the chill autumn skies for a hint of her coming. And sometimes the old, against all the warnings of better judgment, wait with the young and hopeful, their tired winter eyes looking heavenward to seek the first traces of a false softening.

The above material is from Peyton Place, copyright 1956 by Grace Metalious.

Cannibal Island Going to Print Edition...

Yes. It's true. 

But this is going to be a very limited edition, and they will not be available anywhere except through the author (me.) So, just a heads up to let you know that in a very short time, I will be having a contest right here to give away a signed and numbered copy in print. Sure to be a collector's item someday. 

So stay tuned. And if you just can't wait to read this steampunk adventure, you can get a digital copy HERE.