A long time ago, in what feels like a second lifetime, I wrote a bunch of short stories. Like, a ton. And I saved them on my hard drive.

Last summer, after I had to unpublish Mannequin, the girl rehomed that little short story of mine onto Wattpad. And then she took a stroll through my hard drive and my archives. She handed me a bunch of stories to edit and polish up, chose a few to publish immediately, and then… got involved in her own Wattpad activities. (No, you can’t have her names.)

Yesterday, she decided it was time to take one of the stories and get it up on Wattpad. And so New Management is now alive for your reading pleasure.

It’s a story of the Trevolution, and you long-time fans will recognize the characters. Maybe even the situation, although if you need a prompt, here are the two stories this builds on: Twirling and Game On. Neither are in a Demo Tapes collection yet… they’d be in #5, which if you’d like, you should speak up!

So here it is. New Management.

It’s that time of year again!

Every July, Smashwords has a huge, mega sale. And every July, I enter my books into it.

Go pick them up.

And once you do, since it’s the Smashwords July Sale, take some time to browse. Find some new-to-you authors. Check the discounts on books I’ve featured here or over at The Rock of Pages, THE home of Rock Fiction. Books are available in all formats, so don’t be shy because you think you can only buy from this vendor or this online bookstore or whatever. A Smashwords book will work on your reader.

Once you’ve done that, the next step is the best, simplest one: sit down somewhere comfy and start to read. Grab a beer, a glass of wine, a citronella candle, a poolside lounger… you name it. Have some fun. Don’t like a book? Delete and move on to the next!

But love it or hate it, always remember that one of the best things you can do is to leave a review. At Smashwords, at the retailer you usually get your books from, on a blog, over at a social reading site like GoodReads. After all, we authors aren’t making any money off our free books, and the books that are reduced in price bring a reduced royalty, too.

Reviews help authors in so, so many ways. Even if you say, “This was a great read. Highly recommended.”

But, of course, if you want to write more but are struggling, drop me a line. I’ll tell you what: If you want to work with a real wordsmith and former pro reviewer to leave a review for a book you like, tell me you’re reviewing a book you picked up at the Smashwords July Sale, and I’ll slash my rates. Not down to free, but slashed nonetheless.

Because reviews are that important. And so is helping you learn to craft a good review, and to feel good about what you write.

So. A slew of free books. And a pro helping you say thanks to the authors in the most helpful way possible.

Go have a great July, everyone!

This is one of my two favorite weeks of the year. Okay, maybe there are three– I have to count the week (or part thereof) that I spend at Boy Scout camp in there, as well. Trees, no Internet, cool breezes, wall tents, that awesome shower, only books to read for review… patrol cooking by the Scouts, and me the only female in sight.

Yeah, okay… those last two make you wonder. At least, they continue to give ME pause.

Those other two weeks of the year are my favorites because they are taken up by Smashwords sales. This year’s Read an EBook week is no exception; all my books are free, except King Trevor. As the new kid on the block, I’ve only (only!) discounted that one to 50%.

Which means you can have ALL of my books — all three Demo Tapes anthologies, both novels, AND the standalone short story, Mannequin — for $1.50.

How’s THAT for a deal??

But other freebies and great deals abound, as well, so don’t be shy. Take a chance on a new author or three. Show an established author your appreciation by picking up that book you don’t have yet (like King Trevor) for a discount. We only get royalties on the books you pay for, so it’s a big help to splurge that whole buck fifty.

Trevor’s worth it… are you game to play in his sandbox some more? He’ll move over and make room, especially if you’re a woman…

(and as always, don’t forget to leave a few words of review. Your blog, GoodReads, directly at Smashwords… you’d be surprised how a few words of constructive criticism are appreciated. And I promise that I do NOT retaliate if you hate the books. Just be professional in what you say and how you handle it!)

To push him even closer to puking, he’d promised the guys he’d stick to cigarettes until the obligatory after-show party. They said he played worse than ever when he took the stage stoned and while that was probably true, at least he had more fun through a nice buzz. To the others, sounding good was fun and besides, there were three of them and only one of him. Truthfully, Trevor didn’t think it was as big a sacrifice as he was making it into.