Lock in The Goodness-A Sinister $.99 Proposition

It's difficult for writers to promote themselves. Some go overboard and hit every Facebook group available, tweet the thing a thousand times, and give away prizes if people will only pay attention. Other authors today have bowed out and said to hell with it, I'm no shill. Is there a sweet spot? Can we let our dear readers and maybe new readers know we have a book out without appearing to be egotistical and desperate?

I can't even answer that. It's really become a conundrum for every author, including me. I don't want to browbeat people, annoy them, or beg them. I'm not a publisher's publicist. I haven't been trained in marketing. Few authors have. The truth is we spend our lives, mainly, in a hermit like existence doing our work. Hours that stack up to days and, then to years, are spent alone with our imagination, creating other worlds and other people. We simply aren't equipped to step out into the limelight and say to you, the reader, we have the best thing for you to read, the best book to spend your money and time upon, and here it is. In some cases it makes us feel so badly we do finally give up and go silent.

If we do that, however, we've orphaned the book. We've crippled it and sent it packing into a dark corner. Even publishers don't promote our works and we're expected to do it on our own, with very little help. If we want to pay for promotion, it's going to come out of our pockets. If anyone mentions it on Facebook or Twitter or Linked In, we have to do it. 

I'm using my blog today to announce to you the Pre-Order availability of my latest fiction, SINISTER-Tales of Dread 2014. Yes, you can go ahead and order it now at the lower price of only $.99,  lock it in, and you'll have it delivered on the first day available, December 15th. Later it will return to full price. This is my small way of announcing the book, just so you'll know. If you care to know. No harm done if you aren't interested, I suppose. Don't hold it against me. I'm just a writer.

SINISTER 2014 is a collection of stories I've written in the past year. I began this series of collected stories last year and that, too, is titled Sinister-Tales of Dread 2013--the years and covers change. Not every story I wrote is in this year's collection as a couple of them didn't have the rights returned yet, but nearly every story I wrote is in it. Compared to last year's collection, this one contains more realistic suspense and psychological fiction compared to horror. It just worked out that way, though there are some horror tales in there (vampire! contagion! killer apps for a smartphone!) that should disturb the reader and make him check the locks on the doors. 

As the author, I can't tell you if this is the best collection of stories out there. That would be foolish. I can't tell you your life will be better, your hair will turn from gray to brunette, your children will become angels in their comportment, and your friends will lavish you with gifts on your birthday. All I can promise is you'll get Mosiman stories written at the apex of my ability. Weird, strange, odd, and in a case or two, there are stories that are emotional rollercoasters. 

As I stated in an earlier blog, the short story is my love letter to the world--no matter how dark it might be. I write them at full-force, head-on, and barreling down the freeway at a hundred-forty miles per hour. I hold nothing back. I don't second-guess the characters and their decisions. Like some other authors have claimed, I really take down dictation and the stories write themselves. There must be a reason for this. If I'm given stories, then they're meant to be shared, to be read, and if I did my job right, they will be enjoyed. 

Therefore, that's my pitch. I have done my promotion thing, the thing we all despise because it isn't really our job and we aren't trained in it. I hope you will go to the link, look at the cover and the listed stories and decide to put in a pre-order. Sort of a little early Christmas present to yourself--and to me. I'll know you're out there and you're interested in my storytelling. Nothing encourages a writer more than to sell copies of her work and to receive reviews from readers who liked it. If you want the paperback copy instead, that too will be available soon on Amazon.

PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY.

Thanks for your attention to this blog post. It had to be done, you know it did. And something else, though it's not December yet, I hope you have the Happiest Holidays ever--with my book or without it! That's more important than anything else.