Goodreads Giveaway Results: Derrick the Dog
Wow! The giveaway is over, and the response was way more than I ever expected. Thanks to everybody who entered. The winner is Sharlene M. of AB, Canada. Congratulations, Sharlene! For the numbers fiends/curious authors, here are the stats for my first ever Goodreads giveaway . These are all for Derrick the Dog , the subject of this giveaway. I didn’t pay for any supplemental advertising, just posted about it on social media and my site. Before: on 6 shelves, 1 rating, 2 reviews After: on 419 shelves, 2 ratings, 2 reviews I …
In Remembrance: Brooke Overstreet Hack
The nice thing about being independently published and my own boss is that I can write about damn near anything I want. Today, I want to write about my friend Brooke. I met Brooke in Junior High, in Band if I recall correctly, and we were close friends throughout most of Junior High and High School. She was one of my all-time best friends, in fact. She bought me Def Leppard's Pyromania for my birthday one year, knowing how much I liked their Hysteria album. We exchanged homemade Christmas cards most every year. We spent …
Goodreads Giveaway: Derrick the Dog
Just in time for Christmas, I’m giving away an autographed copy of Derrick the Dog over on Goodreads. Click the link below to enter! Goodreads Book Giveaway Derrick the Dog by B.D. Crowell Giveaway ends December 12, 2013. See the giveaway details at Goodreads. Enter to win
Derrick and Max News
Hey folks, I thought I’d share some news about Derrick and Max, in no particular order. Derrick the Dog is free today on the Amazon Kindle store . It’s coming off KDP Select toward the end of the month. There’s one more chance after this one to pick it up for free on the 13th, so if you miss today’s freebie, mark your calendar. It’s already been downloaded well over 100 times and has gotten some good reviews. If you read it and enjoy it, I’d love for you to leave a review, too. I’ve added Derrick the Dog to Kindle MatchBook…
Why do I write what I write?
This is a follow-up post to What made me decide to write a book? I think I did a fairly good job of explaining why I started writing children's fiction in the other post. But I didn't go too much into why I write in the other genres or the themes I explore. So, let's get into that. "The Journey": Illustration depicts a young boy absorbed in watching the scenery from his seat in a railway car for a series of poems by Josephine Preston Peabody entitled "The Little Past." The poems relate experiences o…
Free!
Who doesn’t like free stuff? I know I do. I also like to catch things on sale. For most people, money’s tight. So, I try to keep my prices reasonable, have sales, and give stuff away. If you want to find out where and how to get my stuff for free or cheap, then read on. KDP Select Kindle 2.0 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) I typically enroll a book in KDP Select for 90 days after release.* While my books are enrolled in KDP Select, I can give them away in two ways: Prime members can borrow a book for free each month through t…
My First Review(s)
I saw today on Amazon that Derrick the Dog had gotten its first review. It's my first ever review by someone I don't know (my awesome wife gave me my actual first review). I was very excited. Much like those dollar bills you see hanging on the walls of business across this country, I wanted to hang that review here so I'd always remember it. I know it's bad form for authors to contact reviewers directly, so I'll refrain. But N. Burchett, wherever you are, if you see this, I want you to know that you brightened what h…
What made me decide to write a book?
I recently informed my parents that my first book had been published and that the second one was being wrapped up. That prompted two questions: why am I using a pen name? what made me decide to write a book? books (Photo credit: brody4 ) I've covered that first topic fairly well on the parents page. The second's a lengthier topic and lead to this post. My first published book was not my first book written. But it's the first one out, so let's discuss why I wrote that book: Derrick the Dog , a children…
My First Collaboration
My youngest son asked me to draw a haunted mansion for him the other night. So, while the would-be chefs on TV tried to live up to Chef Ramsay’s expectations, I made him a quick sketch (in pen, no less). Then, he took it and ran with it, adding his own details. I think there’s some potential there. I may have to hire him to start doing the illustration work for my children’s books. What do you think? Can you pick out his additions?
Derrick the Dog is Available
The first Derrick and Max Story, Derrick the Dog , has been released. It’s currently only available on Amazon through the KDP Select program. This means that Amazon Prime members with Kindles can borrow it for free. The plan is to leave it on KDP Select for 90 days and then bring it off the program to make it generally available. For those looking for a paper version, one will be available in the next couple of weeks. If you’d like to check it out, click the cover below to take you to the Amazon page where you can sample, borrow, and b…
Links for Writers
I've been meaning to do this for awhile, but kept putting it off. Today, though, I decided to get off my duff and get to it. I was talking to a coworker recently. We started off on other subjects but eventually we worked around to writing. He revealed, without knowing that I too write on the side, that he'd written most of an epic novel. He didn't know about Scrivener or NaNoWriMo , which I told him about, but I thought how great it would be if I could send him to a page that would give him a good starting point for where to …
Another Update
I've been a busy little beaver and haven't posted in a while. Thought I'd best give a quick update so that my few blog subscribers know I'm still alive and kicking. So, in writing news: Derrick the Dog has been finished, edited, covered, and sent to CreateSpace. I have the proof back, and it looks pretty good (I was a little worried; I'd read some horror stories about bizarre color shifts in photos/illustrations). The margins need some adjusting, and I've spotted a missing word. I'll have to go through it ca…
Getting the Words Down
I’ve been struggling this year getting the words down. Part of it is that I’ve actually been sleeping better (thank you, exercise). But part of it is that I’ve been finding excuses not to write. I’ll be too tired or there’s something else I need to do (or just wind up doing instead). (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Up until this year, I’d tracked my activities in a spreadsheet as they related to my writing career. I’d track words written, time spent illustrating, time spent working on the blog(s). I wanted to see how this year was s…
The Compromise of Art
I’ve been hard at work finishing up the illustration work for Derrick the Dog and so haven’t posted in a bit. However, I read a forum topic yesterday about traditional versus digital art . I guess it bothered me more than I thought, hence the reason I’m awake at 2:30 AM, writing a blog post instead of sawing logs. Comparison of Leonardo's self portrait and the Mona Lisa based on Schwartz's Mona Leo (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) You’ve probably heard the argument: digital art isn’t real art. Those digital guys cheat, letting…
One Year In: What I’ve Learned
On Illustrating In my last post , I talked about what I’d learned in my first year of writing for publication. I learned a lot in that first year. I’ve also learned a few things along the way in regards to illustrating. It’s been an exciting time, and I’d like to share my top 6 tips for aspiring artists. I hope they help. Digital art is freaking awesome! As long as you have the right tools, that is. Have you ever tried to draw with a mouse? That’s an exercise in frustration. With a good drawing tablet, it’s sublime. My fabulou…
One Year In: What I’ve Learned
On Writing Well, a tad over. I tackled NanoWriMo in November, 2011. It was a great experience. It provided the impetus to finally finish Three 15 years after I’d started it. I’ve learned a lot since then. I also have a lot left to learn, but perhaps by sharing what I learned over the past year, I can help someone coming up behind me. So, here’s my top 6 tips I’ve learned about writing after my first year. Writing a novel takes a long time. I can type fairly quickly, or at least I think I can (someone in the comments may …
