Trevor’s Song is part of the Smashwords Summer Sale.

It’s July, so that means one thing: the Smashwords Summer (winter for you Down Under) Sale!

As always, my books are free for you, so help yourself. Pick up one of my past titles, enjoy Trevor and the Trevolution. Let me know if you want to see a third Trevor novel or a fifth Demo Tapes compilation — or even a complete set, with each and every story in chronological order. I can and will do any or all of these for you.

But this year, I’m going to lay down a challenge for you. On August 2, 2019 (so, a year and a month) from now, my daughter is headed to Yellowstone National Park with the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium. They picked 13 of their ZooU students for this trip, which is run through Ecology Project International. They’ll be doing a week’s worth of research, conservation work, and more. They’ll be camping in the back country, bear spray at the ready. It’s a nine-day trip, the longest she’ll have been away from me. And she’ll be doing something I’ve dreamed about! Talk about adding insult to injury…

So. What’s the challenge I’m handing down to you?

It’s this: If you decide to pay full price for any of my books at Smashwords during the month of July, when they are on sale and you could have them for free, I’ll put 100% of my royalties to the cost of her trip. It’s not a cheap trip, and she needs some gear before she goes, too. Thankfully, because we are a Scouting family, we have some of it. But she still needs some.

Want to donate directly to her and skip the books, since you’ve already read and loved them? You can do that. She and I would both love that.

Regardless of what you choose to do (if you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice!), take some time and wander through the Smashwords Summer Sale. Find some good deals.

And no matter what, remember to leave a review! Nothing helps an author more — except telling your friends about something you’ve read — than leaving a review. Even if it’s as short as “I liked this because…”

Negative reviews may prick an author’s pride, but when written constructively, they are helpful to both the author and future readers. I encourage you to think long and hard, but not to shy away from a negative review.

And, as always, if you need help writing a review, holler. I offer a steep discount on review help. That’s how important they are to me.

Happy Smashwords searching! And if you haven’t joined the Trevolution yet, why not? It’s FREE.

To celebrate Rocktober in style, I’ve dropped the prices on Trevor’s Song and the newest Demo Tapes quintuplet, Year 4, at Amazon and Smashwords. Other retailers ought to be following suit soon.

Do you know of a Rocktober Rock Fiction special? Are you offering one?

Drop a link in the comments and I’ll do my best to update it here.

Yep, it’s one of my favorite months of the year: The Smashwords Summer/Winter Sale!

Why Summer/winter? Because e-book readers live all over the planet, and on half the planet right now, it’s winter. I’m not sure I could ever adapt to snow in July, but maybe I could. It’d be quite the adventure to find out.

Back to the sale… Head over to Smashwords. Pick up some of your favorite works of Rock Fiction, browse for some goodies, or even have some fun with the coupons I’ve set up for my own books. I know you guys have all seven, so why not take this opportunity to introduce a friend … or five… or ten… to the zany antics of Trevor, Mitchell, and the gang?

Here’s a hint: all it’ll cost you is the time (mostly; you can afford a buck for the King, right?). This month is all about spreading the word, so let’s get that word spread, far and wide!

It was the damndest thing. Before heading to a luncheon on Friday, I checked my sales over at Amazon, figuring I was doing nothing more than wasting time. Sure enough, nothing had changed since the morning.

This is why I usually only check in once a week.

But it’s Rocktober, and all the books are on sale and if there’s one thing all these cats have taught me, it’s that hope springs eternal.

I had a great luncheon. Think I’ll put in an application to the program it was introducing us to.

Less than three hours later, I got home and … yeah, I know. I shouldn’t have. I checked my sales numbers.

They’d gone up by 11.

What? My numbers NEVER rise that much in such a short period of time.

I checked again. It was a mistake, some glitch. Maybe Amazon had been slow to report during the week, and were now catching up.

13.

The day went like that, the numbers escalating wildly, until they’d increased by 50.

I never have days like this. Ever. Not even on release days. This is new territory.

Twenty more showed up overnight, before things slowed down. Like whatever promo I’d been an unwitting part of had ended. Yup, about 24 hours of dream come true…

If you know anything about this, fill me in on what happened, will you please?

And to all the people who’ve taken advantage of the Rocktober specials, thank you. A lot. Just remember… when you read something you like, be it my book or someone else’s, why not leave a few words in review?

Yep, it’s time for that annual celebration we call Rocktober in these parts. If you’re new around here, that means we celebrate the collision of music and books all month long.

I don’t have a super-awesome lineup like I did last year, but I did drop the prices on my books at Smashwords and (supposedly) Amazon. there are some fun things ahead, and there are more players this year, too.

If you’re one of them, drop me a note in my comments here or on the West of Mars Fans Facebook page.

If you run into one, encourage the site owner to drop in and leave it him/herself.

As you guys give them to me, I’ll link them up at the bottom of this post, so be sure to bookmark it and check back frequently.

As October rocks on, do the same, will ya? Let’s celebrate the amazing collision of books and music.

The lovely — and for once, I mean that and am not sneering as I type — folks at Amazon have decided to include The Demo Tapes triplets in their 4-for-3 promotion.

That means you can buy all three Demo Tapes anthologies in print (instead of the Kindle format) and get something thrown in for free!

Go on. What are you waiting for?

Oh, you already have Demo Tapes 1, 2, or 3?

Well, go browse around! Check out my list of other Rock Fiction you may have missed. See if any of THEM are on the sale. Maybe it’s Demo Tapes 3 that you’ll get for free…

Go find some new reads while supporting your favorite author.

Hey! What do you mean? *I* am your favorite author.

Right??

Right.

I know it’s not quite the middle of the month yet, but the Smashwords Summer Sale is turning up some interesting results. (Go visit my profile page, if you haven’t yet)

Not surprisingly, Trevor’s Song is my top seller. This reinforces the common belief that novels sell better than short story collections.

Demo Tapes 3 comes in second, having sold one fewer book than Trevor’s Song.

Demo Tapes 1 is next

then Demo Tapes 2

and finally, Mannequin.

I know what you’re saying: “Hey, Sooz, what about King Trevor???”

Yeah. Exactly.

I know we live in a world where free is the way of life. I noticed that in the early days of the sale, when Demo Tapes 3 and Trevor’s Song, both set to free for the first time since I published them, were outselling the other books, 2-1. It was like people had been waiting to get their Trevor fix until I did the inevitable and set them to free.

Okay. I get that.

But… I’ve got bills to pay, folks.

So here’s what I’m asking, and it’s really no different than what many others are currently asking: If you like what you read, why not leave a review someplace? Leave it on the sale page at Smashwords. Post it around wherever you have an account: B&N. Amazon. Powells. GoodReads. If you have a blog, send me the url and I’ll link to it from my reviews page for each book.

Even if you write, “I liked this because…” (and fill in the blank!) and that’s your entire review, it’s a help. No one said you had to be a professional reviewer. In fact, sometimes, it’s better that you’re not. Your reaction is going to be more honest, more real. There’s an authenticity that I lose when I write for the people who pay me. Take advantage of the power that gives you, friends.

It’s also a nice way to say thanks for the freebie.

Yep, gang, it’s that time of year again — the time when Susan throws convention and royalties to the wind and makes most (well, all but King Trevor) of her books free as part of the Smashwords Summer/Winter Sale.

The idea here is exposure, gang. I’m hoping to pick up new readers, maybe some who’ll be kind enough to leave reviews at all the various spots where one can leave reviews.

Yeah, I know. Giving that many books away — last year, I blew past my previous record — means fewer royalties. That means my bank account struggles and it’ll be that much longer before my web guy and I can work on even more site improvements, but … this is Trevor and over and over, the people who meet Trevor love Trevor, once they get past his crusty, asshole exterior. With the editing taking up so much of my time right now (which is both a blessing and a curse, no?), I need all the help that I can help with spreading the Trevor love.

So… I know most of you reading this already have the books. Why not buy a copy (or two) for a friend? Take a few minutes and write a review? (Not sure how? Start here: I liked this because ____. I didn’t like _____. I wish ______. Yes, reviews CAN be that easy!)

Your support now means more good stuff in the future. I promise.

ETA: The link! How did I forget the link?

I’ll share the saga of a week mostly without Internet (and the 150 mail messages that got nuked. Not good. Very very not good) later, but for now,

to celebrate the holiday season and to entice all you e-reader users, new and old, I’ve dropped some prices around town.

The Demo Tapes triplets are now 99c each.

Mannequin is now FREE (at Smashwords only for the time being).

If they sell well, I’ll leave ’em low, especially if they stimulate sales of Trevor’s Song. This is a good time for you already familiar with the Trevolution to gift some e-books to your friends, as well. King Trevor is still slated to be released on April 12, 2012.

Because Smashwords is my favorite retailer, here’s the link to my page there.

You Kindle users can use this link. Or the Smashwords one; you CAN get Kindle format from Smashwords, you know.

Here’s hoping you all had a great day today, regardless of what or how you celebrate.

Yep, it’s that time of year again.

Last year, I did pretty well. The end of the week was pre-empted by my leaving for the famed Writer’s Retreat at Confluence, PA. You guys may remember… we were flooded INTO a very lovely bed and breakfast, from which we watched the water rise. And then retreat again. What a way to watch a flood… it was phenomenal.

Last year, also, I only had two books out. I made both the Demo Tapes books free last year; I’m sure that made a difference in sales.

This year, they will be free again, if you’re looking to pick them up and add them to your e-book library.

However, Trevor’s Song, that novel of mine… I’m only discounting it 50%, to $1.50. I’ve got bills to pay, folks, and a website to support. I think spending $1.50 for up to three books is MORE than fair…

The only potential downer is that you’ll have to buy through Smashwords. If you don’t have an account there, what are you waiting for? There’s a TON of free stuff (most of which I can’t vouch for). I’ll be adding links to my friends as they report in with their links… be sure to check them out first. They are, after all, my friends. Which means that, due to the Commutative Property of Friends, any friend of mine is a friend of yours, too.

Susan’s Friends you should check out:
Thea Atkinson
KM Humphreys
Bitsy Bling Books
Sharon Cathcart
Darcia Helle
Libby Fischer Hillmann

Tania Tirraoro — Sweet Seduction
Allen Schatz — Game 7: Dead Ball

Al Boudreau decided to lower his price at Amazon, for you Kindle folk.

Stacy Juba decided to do it on her own terms:

Stacy Juba is offering a 99 cent special for her mystery/romantic suspense novel Twenty-Five Years Ago Today on Smashwords, where you can download the book into the format of your choice.Visit the book’s Smashwords page at http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/17652 and then type in this coupon code at checkout: BU97L.

Jason McIntyre is following my lead. Shed is free. On the Gathering Storm is half off. Two books for a buck fifty. NEW books, not used. Can’t beat that!

**You’ll notice that links to profile pages, not to the books themselves do not have the super-special affiliate code attached. The links to individual books, however, do. This means I may or may not make any money if you guys buy. Of course, I’d prefer to make a few cents…

ETA: I forgot to mention this one! I’m over at Quackers and Tease today, giving away a free download of Trevor’s Song. Even if you’ve already got a copy, why not help spread the word? My royalty statements will thank you!

To celebrate Groundhog Day and Punxy Phil not seeing his shadow (guess those vibes I sent as we drove home from our sledding weekend took hold), Lulu is offering a 20% off sale today (the second) and tomorrow (the third) only.

Here’s the link to my Lulu page. If you’re an author with a Lulu page, link it up in the comments and I’ll include it here.

If you’re a reader who still loves the print (versus the e-book), go! Buy! Have at it!

Use coupon code NOSHADOW305.

Check out these authors and add ’em to your shopping cart:
Paul Mansfield Keefe
My good friend Maria Savva

How is a Merry Christmas post considered a promo tale?

Well… I’m the one bearing gifts. For you, for your friends, for your family, for anyone who woke up this Christmas morning (even in a metaphorical sense) and found a new e-book reader under your Christmas tree.

From now until January 1, all three of my books are 50% off at Smashwords. And yes, at least 50% of my royalties will be donated to the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation.

Here’s the link: Susan’s Page at Smashwords

And here are the codes:
Demo Tapes: Year 1 — UN55K
Demo Tapes: Year 2 — UC87W
Trevor’s Song — zk52R

And yes, the coupon codes are NOT case sensitive. Why do you ask?

Merry Christmas, gang. If you got anything good, talk about it in the comments. And stay tuned for YOUR chance to Meet and Greet, coming in January.

If you saw my Facebook status last night (If Any Idiot can self-publish a book, I clearly need to change my name), you may be able to figure out I’m hung up on getting you guys the print version of Trevor’s Song.

BUT you who like e-books are in luck. It’s now available for sale at Smashwords (oh, how I love them!), and since it’s the Summer Sale, I’ve discounted it. No, not down to free, like The Demo Tapes are, but half off. Which is a whopping $2.50.

Go. Spread the word. You’ve waited a LONG time for this.

And as soon as I get the ISBN up and running (if you are planning on keeping the book on your shelf and don’t care about an ISBN, I believe you can pick it up at Lulu right now), I’ll let you know.

In the meantime, if you’d like to get an autographed copy of the book direct from me, holler. I need to know how many copies to order… It’ll be $12.99 plus shipping.

Yep, boys and girls, it’s time for the Summer Sale over at Smashwords. Which means that once again, I’ve put the two Demo Tapes anthologies on sale — you can get them for free!

Seriously. Free.

Just like I did during Read an E-Book Week. I’m doing it again ’cause I made a lot of new converts to the Trevolution. And with Trevor’s Song finally about to come out (if I ever finish the formatting for Smashwords, and put the ISBN graphic on the back cover of the print version), this is the perfect time to help spread the word.

Here’s the link:
And here’s the Coupon: SW100.

Share the coupon. Spread the love. You know Trevor would!