Free from all shops:
It's a short story that everyone will love - and it's currently ranked #1 in the short story category on Amazon.

Free for a limited time - the price shows on the book page, but it's free in the shops. Hooray, this will end soon!
This book was currently featured in a BookRix Blog Tour:
http://blog.bookrix.com/2013/02/25/evol-a-review-and-a-giveaway/

This one is free in all the shops - and is part one of a great Young Adult Fantasy series called "Dark Vampire Knight".

This is a great book for kids to learn about Dinosaurs! It also has a price listed on the book page but is free in the shops for only a few more days!

Can I please have a copy of that schedule? Cause I'm not that much into wine ...

For the full article, you need to go back to my post "an alternative to water".
But the current schedule is Mon., Wed., Fri.--wine, Tue., Thu.--beer. Sat., Sun.--the hard stuff (whiskey, etc.). Off course, scheduling is flexible...

Sounds good. I like good old rum :)

This looks like it would make a good proof-reading checklist. http://writerswrite1.wordpress.com/2013/05/08/plain-language-11-tips-for-brilliant-writing/

Writing tips by author Mary Higgins Clark

Mary Higgins Clark
By: sereni

Mary Higgins Clark is an American author of suspense novels. She's written 40 novels, two non-fiction books and a number of short stories. Four of her novels have been made into feature films and 20 have been adapted into television movies. Her debut suspense novel, Where Are the Children?, is in its seventy-fifth printing and her books have sold more than 100 million copies in the U.S. alone

HER ADVICE TO WRITERS
"The first thing you have to do is write. So many people tell me, "I'm going to write a book as soon as....." The three fatal words are as soon as.... As soon as I learn to use the computer. As soon as I quit my job. As soon as the kids grow up. As soon as the dog dies. But trust me, as soon as the kids grow up and the dog dies, there will be a new set of excuses not to write which will be equally valid.

HER WRITING HABITS
Mary writes in her office in her home. She begins work in the morning, preferring to get it done before all the non-writing business of the day interferes. She writes from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., eating a sandwich at her desk. She sticks to that schedule unless she's near the end of a book. She works up to 17 hours a day then.
When she began writing, computers weren't available yet, so she wrote longhand and used a typewriter. "My first two books took three years apiece to write, because there were no word processing systems. I would constantly be re-typing twenty or thirty pages with all the revisions -- and sometimes I couldn't even read my own writing. Then I had to type it out. And revisions were a nightmare. If you changed one date, you had to go through 420 pages and change it everywhere."
Now she writes directly on the computer and takes a laptop with her on book tours, as publicity takes up a lot of her writing time

Writer’s Block

By Kathryn Johnson – author and writing coach

Here are my personal Six Favorite Writer's Block Breakers:

1) Stop Thinking! If you pound your head against the desk, wall, or your laptop you'll get nowhere. Get up. Go for a walk. Take a shower. Dig in the garden. Tell yourself you're not going to think about the story. Your subconscious will ignore you and take over the job. Often, doing something physical loosens up the brain and a solution will appear.
2) Write somewhere else. You don't need to write in your office or in any one specific place. Go somewhere that's comfortable or interesting to you--a coffee shop, the mall, down by the lake. The change in setting will shake up your muse. As a bonus, you'll be away from the distractions--laundry, phone calls, the dog--that pull you from your story.
3) Read other fiction. Don't be afraid to read another author whose work you admire. You won't copy their book and risk plagiarism. But you will find the author's strengths and, by recognizing these, you will learn how to make your writing technically better. Blocks sometimes occur simply because we don't know how to do something--introduce a character into a scene, make our dialogue realistic, describe a setting, etc.
4) Read nonfiction. Nine times out of ten, writers feel blocked because they need more fuel--more facts or details. An author-friend once told me, "It's easier to write about something than nothing." And it's true. If you go to original sources or articles written by experts on your subject, you'll find all kinds of usable material that will inspire character motivation, action scenes, secondary plot lines and settings.
5) Find another writer or avid reader who shares an interest in your genre. Explain the sticking point in your plot and ask them to brainstorm with you for fresh ideas. Bouncing possibilities off of another person, a good problem solver or observer of human nature, will start you thinking out of the box.
6) Write! I know, I know, here I am telling the person who says they can't write because they are feeling blocked, "Write anyway." It sounds ridiculous, and yet it's the physical act of writing, not the act of thinking, that jars loose the words and ideas you need to move your writing forward. Give yourself permission to write really bad stuff, or write a poem, a note to a friend, or an entry in your journal. Try writing a letter to yourself, relating what it is about this story or character that's bothering you. If you keep on writing, eventually you'll work yourself back into the story in an effective way...and start moving forward again.

Rose Red and the Cursed Bear

Nicely done, a great start; I thought I was embarking on a fairy tale. I think you have the beginning of a very entertaining story here. I'm not exactly a fan of this genre, but it piqued my interest and made me wonder where it was going.

There were a few places where I thought a comma would have helped, and on page three, paragraph two, I think you need to rewrite the sentence where the maid gets her face smashed into the table. I read it several times and it just didn't work. Read it out loud and I think you'll see what I mean.

But, again, you write well and you're off to a great start.

I'll now try to get my partner in here for her very critical second opinion of your story.

@Ayumi Chizu - I am currently reading your prologue and will give you my input in a day or so. :o)

Thank you so much for the feedback alsam2! I will definitely fix the sentence you referred to.

SIXFOLD FICTION AND POETRYSHORT STORY or POETRY MANUSCRIPT CONTEST
JULY 24- ENTRIES DUE BY 11:59PM EST

OPEN TO AGES 18+

Win $1000, $200, $100 for your short story or poems

Join more than 500 writers now in the vote
(Entrants will also receive feedback - please visit site for more information!)

*PDF FILE IS REQUIRED FOR SUBMISSION!

ENTRY FEE $6* See below for further clarification

Voting is done by the members of the Sixfold Community -

I'VE INCLUDED AS MUCH OF THE INFORMATION FROM THE CONTEST WEBPAGE AS I COULD GET HERE ON THE CONTEST PAGE!

http://www.sixfold.org/

HOW TO ENTER AND VOTE:

Upload your own fiction or poetry PDF manuscript(s) then, vote in your genre to select the 3 prize-winning manuscripts of $1000, $200, and $100, & all the manuscripts published in each issue of Sixfold.

Read, vote, & give feedback during three rounds of 12-day deadlines (36 days total). For each round, you read 6 other writers’ manuscripts in your genre of short story or poetry (18 manuscripts total).

RD 1 08/01-08/12 Read, vote, give feedback on 6 manuscripts in 12 days.
RD 2 08/13-08/24 Read, vote, give feedback on 6 different manuscripts in 12 days.
RD3 08/25-09/05 Read, vote, give feedback on 6 different manuscripts in 12 days.

Per round, you vote on 6 randomly assigned manuscripts in rank order (score of 6=best, 5=2nd-best, 4=3rd-best, etc.). Likewise, your own manuscript is read & voted on by 6 different writer-voters. The highest-voted 1/3 of ALL manuscripts per round advance to the next round.

After the 3 rounds of voting find the best manuscripts with everyone's vote, you receive up to 6, 24, or 78 votes & comments on your own manuscript from other writers, depending on how far your manuscript progresses through the voting rounds. You can see how your manuscript compares to others on a post-voting results page that lists all participants’ manuscripts, ranked anonymously by final voting score. Opt in before, during, or after voting to display your name, profile, and/or link to your manuscript PDF alongside the final ranked public voting results.

Together, all voting writers find the best manuscripts very precisely & with everyone’s vote counting equally. The 3 highest-voted manuscripts of the final round in each genre win the first-, second-, or third-place prizes of $1000, $200, or $100 . The 20 highest-voted short-story manuscripts & the 40 highest-voted poetry manuscripts are published as 2 separate issues. Each issue is free to read online, downloadable as PDF, and free as eBook for iPhone, Android, Kindle, Nook, & others. Paperback book available for about $10, at production cost including shipping.

SIGN UP REQUIREMENTS:

SHORT STORY - 1 short story in 1 PDF file of up to 20 pages, 5,000 words MAX. 1-inch margin, 10-12-pt. font.

POETRY 1 to 5 poems in 1 PDF file. 10 pages maximum. 1-inch margin, 10-12-pt. font.

Upload by July 24, 2013, 11:59 p.m. EST/EDT.

Only 1 manuscript per writer is allowed to enter each short story or poetry issue's voting rounds.

Your name on your Sixfold account profile must be your name as writer of the submitted manuscript.

Your name on your credit card payment must match your name on your Sixfold account profile.

You must not include your name or information that identifies you within the manuscript file PDF.

Upload 1 PDF file of text characters only (no scans/pictures of pages within PDF).
PDF file only; no other file type accepted.

YOU MUST BE AT LEAST 18 YEARS OLD TO ENTER A MANUSCRIPT!!
THE MANUSCRIPT MUST BE WRITTEN SOLELY BY YOU, IN ENGLISH, AND UNPUBLISHED!

ENTRY FEE PAYMENT TERMS:

$6 payment accepted ONLY through Sixfold’s online PayPal portal. Payment cannot be accepted by e-mail, postal mail, phone, or other method.

Your name on your Sixfold account profile must be your name as writer of the submitted manuscript.

Your name on your credit card payment must match your name on your Sixfold account profile.

Unfortunately, there can be no refund of entry fee after each issue’s voting rounds begin.

If you do not vote by any of the 3 rounds’ voting deadlines, then your own manuscript is withdrawn from voting, from receiving voting scores, from advancing into any following round, & you canNot vote in any following round.

Unfortunately, there can be no refund of entry fee if you do not vote by any of the three rounds’ voting deadlines.

HOW THE VOTING PROCESS WORKS:
For all 3 rounds, Sixfold’s database randomly distributes all participants’ entered manuscripts, following these rules:
1) You never receive your own manuscript to read & vote on.
2) You never read & vote on the same manuscript twice.
3) If you don't cast a vote by any of the three rounds’ deadline, then your own manuscript is withdrawn from voting, doesn't receive voting scores, doesn't advance into any following round, & you cannot vote in any following round.

GOOD LUCK!

THIS SOUNDS LIKE A FABULOUS CONTEST!

Deadline: Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 11:59 p.m. EST.

The topic for this contest is: witches.

April 30th, the Other Halloween, also known as WALPURGIS NIGHT or BELTANE, a spring festival with witches and magic.

Write a story that somehow incorporates the topic. The story does NOT have to be specifically about the topic. **BUT SHOULD CLEARLY INCORPORATE THE TOPIC INTO THE STORY.

Creative approaches are welcomed. But contest voters will be asked to consider the topic when making a choice for a winner.

º Minimum length 1000 words.
º Maximum Length 3,000 words.

ºººRecommended length 2,000 - 3000 words.

This contest requires "BLIND" entries:
That means your posted work will have no means to identify you when viewed.
Your name and other information will not be shown.
Fan notifications will not be sent for work posted in this contest.
It will still be available in your portfolio and treated like all other posts.

But when viewed information to identify it with you will not be shown until after the voting is completed.

The First Prize Winner will win the complete "Prize Pool" which is based on the number of entries. The Prize Pool is currently 30.00 member dollars. There are 12 spots still open. If all open spots are used the prize pool will be 90.00 member dollars. In this contest at least 2 submissions must be made for the vote to begin.

This contest is open to all members*(You must join FanStory site). Past contest winners can join the contest.

A voting booth will be created shortly after the deadline is reached.
At that time all participants will be contacted so they can vote.

The voting booth will include this summary of the contest:
º This is a topic based contest.
º Please consider the topic when reading each entry.
º Writers were not required to write specifically about the topic
but it should be incorporated into the submission.

If you plan to write for this contest reserve a spot.
º There are a limited number of entries.
________________________________________
º A vote by writers will determine the winner.
º The decision is final.
º All members that submit a work are encouraged to vote.
A MEMBER CANNOT VOTE FOR THEIR OWN WORK.
º One entry per person.
º New entries to the site only.
º If you already posted a work on FanStory.com that work isn't eligible.

Deadline: Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 11:59 p.m. EST.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CLICK THE LINK!

http://www.fanstory.com/contestdetails.jsp?id=7366

Writing Contest with an editing prize

There is no fee to enter; open to unpublished writers only.

Prizes:

1st place winner will receive a full in-depth manuscript critique from author Brynna Curry.

2nd and 3rd place will receive an in-depth critique of the first fifteen (15) pages of their manuscript.

Contest rules:

Open to unpublished authors who are eighteen years of age or older. For the purpose of this contest unpublished is defined as having no currents works in novella or novel length fiction available for purchase with any vendor in any format. This includes self-published works.

There will be three rounds of judging. In the first round, entries will be read and scored based on plot, characterization and technical execution, given a general 1-10 rating for each skill, then averaged. From this seven (7) entries will be selected in each of the following categories: Historical, Paranormal, Erotic Romance/Erotica, Romantic Suspense/Contempory and SciFi/Fantasy.

In the second round, category final judges will select the top three entries from their category using their impressions of the work and personal experience within the industry. The 1st, 2nd, 3rd place winners will be selected from the final collection of manuscripts from all categories.

Winners will be notified via email on or before October 1st.

Absolute deadline for submissions is July 1st, 2013. Late submissions will be deleted without being read.

GO READ THE FULL RULES HERE:

http://inshadowswritingcontest.blogspot.com/

http://www.bookrix.com/_ebook-marie-simms-surviving-the-hands-of-death/

Here is my short story for women of all ages. I am still new to all of this so it may take me awhile. As always all and any feedback is appreciated :)

Hello :] It'd be great if you guys could read through my novel, Preface--it would be really helpful. I'm still working on editing and uploading the rest of it, so it's not finished. If you want, i'll let you know when I add on another chunk.
Thanks :]
-Jenna Marie

http://www.bookrix.com/_ebook-jenna-marie-preface/

https://www.bookrix.com/_ebook-j-c-laird-jake-and-the-girl-with-the-pretty-legs/

After a year's 'vacation' from BookRix while appearing in the print anthology "Writing on Walls" by the Storyteller Magazine, "Jake and the Girl with the Pretty Legs" is back for a short period before it leaves again in my own anthology of short stories.

https://www.bookrix.com/_ebook-j-c-laird-jake-and-the-girl-with-the-pretty-legs/

Platinum Dust is hosting its very own reading contest. Winner takes $500. Simple rules. For more information visit http://platinumstarz.wordpress.com or Urban Fiction News

You Get What You Pay For - a review!

http://magnoliablossomreview.blogspot.com/2013/05/you-get-what-you-pay-for-by-john-c-laird.html