Taking A (Mental) Break + Giveaway Teaser

I rarely skip a post unless I’m on holiday. Today, however, is going to be one of those days where I skip a post because I want to. And… I sincerely apologise for the lack of a fictional escape this week.

Honestly, I’m low on creativity at this moment. The newest chapter for The Clubhouse is supposed to be out today, but I haven’t even written it yet. Why? Because I don’t know what to write. This sometimes happens, and I’ve managed to push through it before, but not this week. I’ve not gotten enough rest for the past few days and I’m just tired all the time. To try and squeeze a story out of me would result in horrible writing. So if you’re following The Clubhouse and looking forward to the next chapter, please forgive me. You’ll have to wait until next week.

Since I’m being honest, I might as well say that the past month has been very mentally draining for me. As you might have read, I’ve been campaigning heavily for The Slave Prince. This is my chance to get another book on bookshelves, and I’m really going for it! But with the recent emergence of a new book in the competition, that left me in the dust, I was forced to up my game.

HERE is the current standings of the contest, if you’re curious. The Slave Prince has had to fight to stay in the Top 3 since Sparked came into the picture. Sparked shot straight to #1 in less than a day and you have no idea how intimidating that is. I quickly learned how small I am, compared to authors with such huge influence. So in my attempts to face this giant, I’ve been networking like crazy. And thankfully, through my approaches, I’ve managed to get the support of 4 creative people. These people are willing to give out their creative works to those who pre-order The Slave Prince!

Tomorrow’s Giveaway!

I won’t be able to update you on all the giveaways on this blog, as I don’t want my blog posts to spam you daily. But if you follow me on Facebook, Twitter, or the book page itself, you’ll see what’s going to be raffled. There will be novels to give away, cash vouchers, video games, and even an album. No kidding. The sooner you pre-order The Slave Prince, the higher your chances are at taking home something extra – and believe me when I say, everybody will win at least one giveaway. For tomorrow itself, I’ll be announcing a novel giveaway. It’s not my own, but a fellow Inkshares author’s book. More details will be on social media.

Well… that’s all for today’s post. Please accept my apologies and please pre-order a copy of The Slave Prince. Hopefully, when I see you next time, I’ll have something substantial to offer. But until then, have a great week!

Advertisement

No Posts on 21 & 28

Heads up dear reader, there will be no posts today and on the 28th of April. That’s because I’m taking a vacation in the picturesque island of Tasmania! It’ll be a silent two weeks, but I’ll be back 🙂

If you’re missing me already (which I highly doubt) you can use the lack of posts to catch up on The Clubhouse, read already published short stories and fan fictions, or spam me with comments. I’ll also try to be active on Twitter. So if you wanna come along my little trip, you can do so over social media 🙂 I’ll try to tweet pictures daily, as proof I’m still alive and well. That should be fun. Haha! Also, did you know I have an Instagram account?

*Oh and don’t forget to join the Goodreads paperback giveaway of The Battle for Oz! Also, submit your comment HERE to win the e-book version! You only have 4 days left to enter. 

Don’t ask me why this is here. I just thought it fitting. And I don’t even know why.

 

Monday Giveaway

*TL;DR: Read the bold-ed words.

Prior to the launch of The Battle for Oz, my publisher threw a Goodreads giveaway. 20 copies were up for grabs and over 1,000 people entered. I’m still in shock at the number of readers interested in the book. I know some books get way more participants, but for me, 1,000 is a lot! So anyway… now that it’s a little over six months, my publisher and I have decided to throw another giveaway.

Just like round one, there are 20 paperback copies to be won. And don’t worry, despite the blog title, the giveaway is not just open for today. In fact, it runs from March 28th to April 25th. The only downside is this paperback giveaway is only open to residents of the United States and Canada. Unfortunately, my publisher cannot extend it globally… yet. However, they’re more than happy to give 10 free e-books to my readers living outside of US and Canada.

So, if you’re living in the US and Canada, you can enter the Goodreads giveaway HERE. But if you’re not from either of these two countries, you can leave a comment below stating who you like better, Dorothy Gale or Alice Liddell, and stand a chance to win an e-book! Sounds cool?

I’m not sure if any of my blog followers won the Goodreads giveaway the last round. I saw a familiar name, but I cannot be certain. This time, I hope one of you do win a copy. It would be awesome to hear your thoughts on the book. So be sure to join! You have close to one month to enter, and I don’t advise waiting. What if you forget? Ok, ok, fine, I’ll remind you when the date is nearer. But if you have nothing to do now, enter/leave a comment today!

That’s it! I used a lot of ‘so’s in this post didn’t I? So I better end this here. Happy Monday dear reader! And thanks for always sticking around 🙂

Celebrating (Almost) 7K With A Giveaway!

This day has arrived. Never thought it ever would. I mean, 7,000 6,900 subscribers… who would imagine? Well, I have imagined, but I never thought I would reach it. A month or so ago, Big Bang had a concert in Malaysia. They had 15,000 attendees. 7,000 6,900 is less than half of 15,000, but the sight of half a stadium packed with people is still mind blowing. (No, I’m not a Big Bang fan. I didn’t attend the concert. But I think T.O.P is cute though.)

Anyway, that being said, I am just so honoured to have each and every one of you as my reader. I’m not sure how many of you are still reading my posts every week, but even if you don’t, you subscribing shows your support. Thank you for your support. It means a lot to me. Every single reader is a boost of morale. Thank you for being that one. Without you, it wouldn’t be 7,000 6,900. Thank you 🙂

So, to celebrate this awesome milestone, I have a special announcement to make.

As some of you might know, my latest novel, The Battle for Oz, will be out in September. It will be on bookshelves in the US and Canada. Some bookstores have already placed orders to have my book in stock. I’ll list them out in the near future. But that is not the special announcement today. As per the post title, there is a giveaway!

If you’re on Goodreads, there’s a Goodreads giveaway happening right now. 20 copies of the book will be freely given to those living in US and Canada! Click HERE to join the giveaway – it ends on September 15th.

Unfortunately, it’s not open to all the countries in the world. So perhaps I’ll throw my own giveaway in the future. That being said, if you would like to get your hands on The Battle for Oz, you can find it listed on many online bookstores worldwide. If you live in Asia, Open Trolley in Singapore has my book listed. You can also get it from Amazon and Barnes & Noble. If you want most of your money to be sent to me, you can buy it from Inkshares. I make the most profit from direct sales there. Inkshares also offers free shipping 🙂 Win-win!

On a side note, if you are a game developer, music composer, filmmaker, visual effects expert, artist, jewellery maker,  or anyone along those professions, that would like to collaborate on expanding the world of The Battle for Oz, send me an email. Let’s create another win-win situation 🙂

Well, that’s all for this post. Thanks again for your readership! Do continue to stick around for more awesome adventures ahead. And have a great weekend!

5,540 : 3,513

#5,540

I have reached 5540 subscribers today 🙂 Yippee yay! Thank you so much for your support. I really appreciate all the comments, shares, likes, and re-blogs, and I’m grateful for your time spent at my little corner of the internet. I’m happy that you have decided to join me on my fictional adventures and I hope you will continue to stay on board. Thank you!

#3,513

As bloggers, you and I have a desire to share our voices with anyone who would listen. So, you understand me more than anyone else. If you’re an indie writer, you get me even more! Help me amplify my voice to the world. I know I’m asking you to support my dream when you have dreams of your own, but you also know that dreams don’t just come true by wishing on a star; dreams come true when you and I believe.

3513 is actually the exact number of dollars I’m short in completing The Battle For Oz crowd-funding project. I’m more than halfway funded, but I need your help to give me a boost. This is the time where I need just a little more from you.

I hate asking people for money, but to have you back me up would mean a lot. After all, you’ve subscribed because you believe in me, right? I would appreciate if you could have a little more faith 🙂 Trust that this would be a huge stepping stone and it would give me a good kick start to publish more books; books I hope to share with you.

I only have  65 days left to complete the funding project and time can really fly. Please check out the project when you have the time. I would appreciate it. You can also read more about the paperback giveaway should you be interested in winning a copy.

I hope you would give me your support. The world may not need me as another author, but the world could use a fresh conviction that dreams can come true when we stand together and believe 🙂

Keeping this short and sweet, thank you once again for staying with me. I’m looking forward to greater adventures with you!

Win A Paperback Copy Of The Battle For Oz

Yes, you heard me right! I have decided to give back.

If my crowd-funding project for The Battle For Oz is a success, I would get a few copies of the book in paperback myself. AND I intend to give those books away to 10 lucky subscribers!

I would write you a personal message, sign the book, and mail it to you. I hate going to post offices, but I will go anyway.

Note: This is only open to the subscribers of my blog, why? No legitimate reason. 

So, how do you enter?

#1 Visit The Battle For Oz crowd-funding page and fund a minimum of 5 USD. (Payable via credit/debit cards)

#2 Once you do so, I will receive an email with your name and contact. Since I get contributions from non-blog subscribers as well, I’ll need you to reply to my email stating you’re a subscriber.

#3 You can fund as many times as you like, which will increase your chances of winning the paperback copy.

Once the project is fully funded and the books are delivered to me, I will do a video with me drawing names out of a box to choose the winners 🙂

Now, you’re probably wondering, is this really a giveaway when you have to put in at least 5 USD?

The answer is yes and no.
Yes, because to get a paperback, you need to at least fund 25 USD, but now you only do so with 5 USD.
No, because your 5 USD goes to supporting me in achieving my dreams 🙂

And who knows, when I make it as a best-selling author one day, that book can be sold as the only 10 autographed first editions in the world! It’s an investment worth considering, no?

This contest will run from now till the book is fully funded. So the faster you guys enter this contest, the faster you would receive the book and the higher your chances are of wining it.

Stop hesitating and visit the project page now!

*Jonas L., Douglas R., Kirsten L., & Michelle P., your names have already been added into this giveaway for funding this project before the announcement of this contest. If I missed your name, send me an email 🙂