Monster Mash Up is on the way.

Get ready for the Monster Mash Up!

With Young Mutants in Love getting ready to release in October, we are preparing a chance for everyone to interact with the story and get some previews on the action.

Each week before the book release, there will be a monster reveal. (The first one does happen to be a mouse in case you were wondering.) Just before the book release, there will be a vote for the monster on the cover.

Don't miss out on this event. Keep track of the latest by following my Facebook fan page:

William D. Dickerson Facebook Fan Page

A Quote from Young Mutants in Love

"I don't know about you," Cacy admitted, "but I love having super speed. I'll fight crime just to run fast."

Official Release Date for Young Mutants in Love

I have set the official release date for my second novel, Young Mutants in Love.  It will be coming out on October 19th. That isn't very far away at all, but I'm confident that it will work out.

There will be plenty of exciting things in the works this time around. Puddingtane (http://www.puddingtane.com/) will be handling a lot of the details for me, which will be great. I know they will do a great job just like they did for the Cherry Wood trailer.

What can you expect to see?

• book trailer
• book marks
• t-shirts
• and more...

Take your opprotunities while you can

When it comes to being a writer, and self publishing, you need to grab every opportunity that comes your way. Keep a book with you and talk about it to anyone that will listen to you. Send information to your local paper, and try to donate it to your local libraries (not all libraries will accept any books without reviewing them first.)

Progress is being made

I have officially completed the rough draft of Young Mutants i Love, and I'm excited to go back and see what I think of it. That's the scary part for me, worrying that I won't like it as much when I go back to it.

Cherry Wood is in good position, but I need to do more to promote it and get the word out. I really am terrible about that part of things, and I just need to do more about it.

The best line I have written this month (so far)

"'I now throw the switch," Mornigan announced to his imaginary minion.

My first book signing (small scale)

So, just a few days after moving back to New York, I went to a family reunion, and it turned into a book signing. I only had 3 books, and they were all allocated for specific family members. I still need to get one for my grandma though.

It was a fun to have a group of people that wanted my book. Selling the books was nice too since I haven't made much money yet as a writer.

After the success of that endeavor, I made a contact at the coffee shop down the road. I got an email to talk to someone about doing a book signing there in the future. Maybe that will become something too. We'll have to wait and see.

A book is never truly done

No matter how much you work on your book, it is always going to have points and places that you could make better. I just finished another edit of my first book, Cherry Wood, and now it's a matter of waiting on Create Space to update the files.

It is hard to accept that you didn't get it perfect sometimes, but try to remember that everyone faces the need for revision. Don't take that as a negative, but as an opportunity to make your book even better.

Book Trailers are cool

Book trailers are one of the new ways to promote your book. They can be a great way to convey the mood and story of your book. I 've been wanting to put one together for Cherry Wood, but I haven't had time or the knowledge to make it work for me. Fortunately, I have a friend that is trying to start up a promotional business for writers. She made this trailer for Cherry Wood, and I think it works great to get the message of the story out there.


Check out http://www.puddingtane.com/ if you are interested in getting a trailer made for your book, or other promotional services.

Blog Blitz post by Kandy Kay Scaramuzzo

What is Blog Blitz? Well, a bunch of authors on Goodreads decided to do a blog tour and call it Blog Blitz. I got the opportunity to share a post by Kandy Kay Scaramuzzo. I hope you enjoy what she has to say.

        I was asked to share some of my writing journey, so here goes.  If I was a race horse, you could say I stumbled out of the gate.  Due to some misunderstandings, the first issue of my book came out without the final edits.  Since I was a first time author, I naively thought that once they printed it, it would be perfect.  OOPS!  I did not notice anything wrong until it had been out about a month, (and of course after I send out a ton of review copies) when I got a review that said it was full of errors.  I couldn’t believe it because none of the other reviews mentioned errors.  I decided to soldier on and that reviewer just needed glasses.  Then a friend that I had made online told me very bluntly that I needed to fix my book.  Then I actually looked at it.  I was appalled. I could not believe I had sent that out with my name on it.

     I promptly had it pulled from sales and edited.  That cost a pretty penny with my publisher; I considered it money well spent.  The book is now fixed and we are still trying to replace and recover from our first fiasco.  I feel rather stupid that it happened, but being new, we all make mistakes.  Trust me I have learned from this one.   I set about replacing everyone I had sent out or sold, that was no small task.  Many people just wanted to keep the flawed copies; they seem to think they will be collector’s items.  Nice to know they have that much faith in my success.  Anyway, life goes on, I seem to be on the uphill climb now with my book.

     I still get a review every once in a while that says there are mistakes, but I put them down to people not understanding that the book was written by a horse.  The character is a 38 year old rescued ranch horse and he is not going to speak in the proper Queen’s English.   The editor and I had a few issues there, but I did not want to lose Pie’s voice.  He has a particular way about him and it is consistent throughout the book. 

     Pie An Old Brown Horse, (That Knows What He Is Doing) is a very special book.  It is very similar to Black Beauty and everyone that picks it up and actually reads it, loves it.  He is getting great reviews and has a great message.  It highlights the fact that just because something is a little bent or bruised doesn’t mean it has no value.  Pie has proven that.  It also shows that some parents will do anything to ensure that their children learn valuable lessons in life. The fact that Pie spent years helping autistic children doesn’t hurt either.  The thing I think is the best about the book is that Pie is still with us at the ripe old age of 38.  No sad endings here.  He is alive and well and littering the internet with his short stories and opinions!

     Pie was awarded a five star Readers’ Favorite Review. He has been in January Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, & Focus On The Family.

About the author

Kandy Kay Scaramuzzo is a seventh generation Texan who has her own brick at The Cowgirl Museum. She has taught in alternative education for over twenty years. Ms.Scaramuzzo is a member of the 2012 Strathmore's Who's Who. She has a BA in Criminology and MAedCT. She works in horse, dog, cat and snake rescues. Ms. Scaramuzzo has been a tester observer for therapy dogs for nine years. She ran a therapy horse riding program for autistic children for five years. She has been a recognized animal behaviorist for over 20 years. This is her first book about an exceptional horse. She feels it is important to give back to maintain the balance of a civilized society.

About the book

This five star Readers’ Favorite book is the story of a twenty five year old ranch horse that was injured and pretty much left to die. He was brought to a stable and sold, even though no one really expected him to survive. He was reborn into a merchant of hope. His amazing spirit and calmness have helped many people over the next 13 years as he became the most amazing mentor and therapy horse. This is Pie's story as he tells it about the most amazing second chance at life and his travels through it. You will meet his person, a shy young girl who he helps grow into adulthood. He will introduce you to the other horses and people that helped shape his journey. His influence has known no bounds throughout this last 13 years and he continues to shine his light even at the ripe old age of 38. This is a feel good story about life, love, second chances and giving back.

Win a free copy of Cherry Wood

My news isn't as exciting as it was going to be because I got a better suggestion for later this month, but I do have something for everyone.

I'll be doing a give away of a free copy of Cherry Wood this week. How do you enter? It's very simple:

Sign up for my mailing list by sending a message to lockheed40book@gmail.com.
Wait and see who wins.

It's a simple as that. The winner will receive an email requesting mailing information.

I can't see Iron Man 3 until I reach my deadline.

In an attempt to get myself on track for Young Mutants in Love, I won't let myself watch Iron Man 3 until I finish the first round of edits on the 50,000 words from National Novel Writing Month. Hopefully I won't miss out on this movie.

Where has May gone?

May 31 was my deadline to make edits on the 50,000 words I'd written for Young Mutants in Love. The end of the month is coming up fast, and I've still got a long way to go. Hopefully I can get back on track so I can get this book out by October.

Promotion is hard when you don't like to put yourself out there.

Having written a book feels great, I can't deny that. I'm glad that I decided to take the self publishing route because I don't want to deal with all the submissions and waiting. I'm more than happy to have Cherry Wood out there for people to see and read. (I'm also looking forward to getting Young Mutants in Love ready to go.)

The hardest part for me so far has been self promotion. I want people to read my book, and hopefully love it, but I don't want to tell people to read it. It's a complicated conundrum. I'm not sure if I have what it takes to make this work, but I'm going to work on it.

Read my book, it's awesome.

Hopefully that helps.

The First Chapter of Young Mutants in Love (Draft 2)

Chapter 1

               

Gavin loved flying. It was one of his favorite benefits of what had happened since the Change he and Cacy had experienced the change that had moved their lives in a new direction. The Change had allowed Gavin to become Karis. She could fly and she hadn’t found anything on the planet that could hurt her, but he still had difficulty at times with being a woman.

Karis was shaken out of her thoughts as she just missed being caught by the giant claws that were obsessed with crushing her. Mornigan seemed to enjoy creating huge monsters to plague her life.

A claw grabbed for her as she ducked out of the way, but the other claw was close behind. Diz was dashing around the six legs of the monster, but its attention was fastened on the fly buzzing around it. Karis hoped that Diz would do something soon.

Before Diz could act, a claw snatched the crimson-headed fly. Invulnerability didn’t’ make her position any less uncomfortable. Besides, the not-crab was intent on testing the limits of Karis’ hard shell. Perhaps it wanted a game of who’s-shell-is-harder.

Karis felt Diz in her mind. There was a sense that something was about to happen. Why didn’t she have super strength to go with her invulnerability? With her own strength, she would never burst out of this shell.

The claw popped open as the creature start fall. Karis hovered over the beast and saw that its legs had been tied. It was still scrambling, but since it was bound, the creature wasn’t going to get very far. Diz gave her a thumbs-up sign before dashing out of sight. It was still amazing to Karis how fast his body moved when Cacy inhabited it.

Karis flew close to a mile away and back at top speed straight for the crawly critter’s head. It didn’t make a difference to the strange animal, but it made her feel better. Perhaps she would feel even better back in her own body. Now that the situation had settled down, she took a moment to brush a lock of her red hair back into place.

Black cars with black windows pulled up to the crustacean as well as several white trucks. Karis floated to the ground and waited for the Greys to make contact. Diz rushed beside her and Karis waited a moment for the air to flow past them.

“You always have to make an entrance, don’t you?”

“Only when I’m in your body,” Diz joked. “When I’m Cacy, I seldom get the urge.”

Cacy may have been in his body, but it wasn’t exactly the body he was used to seeing in the mirror. The body stood around six feet tall and there was much more muscle definition than he used to have a year ago. His red hair had been replaced with Cacy’s blonde hair, and the same was an exchange of her blue eyes for his green ones. It was an unusual side effect of their powers. It was one of the many strange exchanges that went along with their powers.

“Can we change back,” Karis pleaded.

“Let’s wait until the Greys are gone,” Diz apologized. “We don’t want them to know all of our secrets.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Karis lamented. “Let’s get this out of the way so we can get back to our own lives.”

A man stepped out of the group of men and women in the grey track suits milling around the animal. He was taller than Diz and had long brown hair and black aviators. Karis again found herself surprised that these men were not dressed in black suits, but instead Michaels and his compatriots were in their grey track suits and running sneakers.

“What’s the word, Michaels?” Karis asked.

“Crayfish,” Michaels answered briskly. “Best guess is that it crawled out of the river about five miles west of here and has been tearing up the countryside all the way to here.”

“Has it been growing like the others?” Diz wondered.

“Yes,” Michaels answered holding his fingers a couple of inches apart, “it started around this big when it left the river.”

“So do you need us for anything else, or can we get out of here?” Karis inquired.

“There doesn’t seem to be any other activity at the moment, but we’ll keep you posted,” Michaels replied.

* * *

Karis lifted into the air as Diz flew down the road. Karis pondered her life and the direction it was taking. Perhaps it was time that Gavin and Cacy had a talk about the future.

She flew toward the old tree where their adventures had begun. It was their standard plan. Karis could see his car off in the distance, and Cacy was running circles around the tree. It was situated at the end of an old dirt road and it was the only landmark for miles around. The tree was in the center of a large patch of untended field with uncut grass and brush all around. Of course they couldn’t see much this late at night with no moon visible. Gavin landed a few feet away from the tree to avoid being run over.

“Why do you always do that?” Diz demanded. “You know that I have enough control to stop for you.”

“That’s not why I stop,” Karis explained, “I just like to give you some space; I can to at least that much.”

“It isn’t that easy,” Diz admitted.

Karis still could adjust to seeing his body from this perspective, especially with the hair. So much had changed for the two of them since that night a year ago, but he tried not to think about that.

Seeing his own body from another body was nothing compared to the sensations of being a woman. His breasts were always in the way and even with the powers; he could still feel the chill in the night air. It didn’t help that Cacy insisted that they look like superheroes as possible. Their bodies had changed to fit that mold all on their own, but now, he felt almost naked whenever he went out as Karis in the skimpy green and purple swim suit the Greys had put together for her, especially when she compared it to the black full-body costume and black helmet than had given Diz. Karis had asked for a cape, but everyone had insisted that she wouldn’t look right in one. Cacy most of all.

“Can we change back now,” Gavin implored.

“Sure, what’s on your mind?”

My first free day!

So yesterday was the first of my five free days with Kindle, and 313 people took a chance on my book for free. Hopefully they will read it and give me some feed back. It's a bit of a gamble, but hopefully it will pay off.

Cherry Wood is free on Kindle today!

You know you want to read it, and why not read it for free? Kindle Select allows it's authors to have 5 free days during the 90 days they are required to stick with Kindle. My first one is today. Go to Amazon to check it out.

Cherry Wood

Selling your first book feels great

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CJ4NPX4

You can't blame me for wanting to put a link to Cherry Wood at the top of this post. I want everyone to buy it after all. I put my book on Kindle on the 25th of April, and the print copy is also now available. I've had 3 confirmed sales so far. I know all of them personally, but that's OK.

It was a really great feeling to open up the sales tracker and see that little #1 sitting there looking at me. I think that was the moment that I truly felt like a writer. I don't know if I really needed anyone to give me confirmation, but it was nice even so.

I'm about to send an email to the Store Marketing Specialist for the Whole Foods store just down the road about arranging a book signing. Hopefully that works out.

Cherry Wood is now available on Kindle

As of April 25 (several days ahead of schedule) Cherry Wood is now availble on your Kindle. Hopefully, everything will come together soon for it to be available with Print-on-Demand by the end of the month.

If it looks interesting, check it out and write a review when you are done. That would help a lot.

The cover for Cherry Wood

I make business cards to promote my book.

Cherry Wood-Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Will took a deep breath and savored the scent of ripening cherries. This only added to the regret he was feeling over his upcoming departure. Will wouldn’t miss this orchard, there were plenty of others out there just like the one owned by Harold Wallace, but he enjoyed the men and women he’d had for companions over the last six months. 

He sat on the Wallace’s porch with his feet propped up on the railing. This wasn’t the job he wanted. Well, he wasn’t going to complain about getting the day off, but he knew that this change in plans meant it was time to leave again. Will picked up his laptop and started checking his emails. There were the usual assortment of junk mails and a few job offers in the mix, but he deleted all of them. He stopped for a moment to look over the message from his mother.

It was the usual message. “Where are you? When are you coming home? You could at least call, or write back. Do you know what you’re putting your Father through?”

There was more, but Will deleted it before he got upset. It might have been different if she would write something new, but it was the same email that he’d gotten a hundred times before. She didn’t understand the choices he’d made with his life, and as a result, she didn’t get a response from him.

This was the least active last day of work that Will had ever had. His boss didn’t even know that Will was going to leave at the end of the day, but it was time to get out. Will hadn’t come to California to sit on a porch drinking pink lemonade and playing on the computer. There was a little bit more to the job, but waiting for someone to drive down a dirt road looking to buy antique furniture was truly pointless.

It was even more pointless when you considered that there hadn’t been a single car that drove past the main house in the four hours that had passed since Will started. This wasn’t a public road.

Just as Will was thinking this, he noticed that there was a cloud of dust heading his way.

At first, he couldn’t make out what kind of car it was because of all the dust. Will thought about leaving a note for Wallace that the road could use some maintenance, but then Wallace wouldn’t bother to do anything about it. Besides, how many cars drove on this road?

Despite his expectations, the car started to slow down as it approached the house. Will set down his glass of lemonade and his laptop, then he stood up with his hands on the railing in order to get a better look at whoever was driving the bright red ’72 Oldsmobile Station Wagon that was pulling up to the house.

The driver-side window rolled down and a woman’s hand with bright red nails reached out of the window and opened the door. The driver stepped out of the car. She was quite tall for a girl which was something that Will appreciated. She had long blonde hair that had massive curl, and fell down below her shoulders. Her outfit was distracting because she was dressed like a colorblind gypsy. The long skirt and long-sleeved red top were fine, but it was the layers of clothes on top of them each with its own strange pattern and colors that were an issue. She was pretty, but Will just wasn’t sure what she was trying to accomplish with her outfit.

“Can you tell me where I am?” the girl asked breaking Will out of his train of thought.

“This is the Wallace farm,” Will replied.

“That doesn’t help me at all,” she answered back. “I’m trying to get back to the city.”

“I’m afraid you’re going the wrong way then.” Will said. “If you go back the way you just came, and just keep driving straight for about 15 miles, you’ll find the main road again.”

“I guess I got a little more lost than I thought,” she said with a big smile.

Will took a moment to enjoy her smile and the beautiful brown eyes that looked at him. “Can I offer you a drink before you take off?”

“I could use a drink, but I’m going to be driving so I guess I should say no.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Will said with a wink. “My boss doesn’t drink alcohol so the strongest thing I can offer you is some lemonade.”

“I guess I can handle that,” she laughed. “So what are you doing here on the porch in the middle of the day? Doesn’t your boss have something for you to do?”

Will walked up to the porch and poured the girl a glass of lemonade. “It’s a long story, but I guess he’s decided that I’m more valuable here on the porch than out working in the fields today. There is more than just sitting and drinking lemonade though.”

“Really?” she asked with mock surprise. “What more could he possibly ask you to do?”

Will pointed to two chairs by the side of the road. “My extremely important task is to sell this furniture. Impressive isn’t it?”

The girl walked over to look at the two chairs that were there by the road. Will sat down in one of them and invited her to take the seat next to him.

“These are some exquisite chairs,” she said taking a seat.

“Yes, the Queen Anne style is quite nice,” Will replied. “They have been made since the 18^th century. These chairs aren’t quite that old, but I would guess that they are least a hundred years old.”

“So, what are you looking to get for them?”

“I don’t care.” Will answered. “I’m pretty much done here, and I’ll be moving on tonight. I’ll take whatever you want to offer.”

“Do you like cherries?” she asked.

“Cherries?” he queried in return.

“Yes, cherries, I just happen to have a couple of baskets of cherries I was hoping to sell out of the back of my car until I got a little lost earlier today.”

“Two baskets of cherries exchanged for two chairs made out of cherry?” Will pondered. “I think we can make that work.”

“Are you serious?” the girl asked.

“Sure, I’ll even help you load them up in your car.”

“Any chance you’ll help me unload them too?” she asked with a playful grin.

Will thought for a minute. “I don’t even know your name. What’s in it for me?”

The girl smiled. “I don’t know your name either.”

“I’m Will, and you are?”

“Maybe I’ll tell you tonight when you stop by to help me with these chairs.”

Will laughed as he agreed. They unloaded the cherries and loaded up the chairs. Will took the address to her house and walked back to his room to pack. There wasn’t any point in staying and it was time to move on anyway.

Will loaded up his few possessions and made his way to her house to move some chairs.

IAN (Independent Author Network)

While looking for opportunities to promote my upcoming book, Cherry Wood, I happened across the Independent Author Network. For a starting fee, and nothing else over time, they will create an author page for you to help you promote your book.

They made me one, and since it just went up, I don't know just how much it has help yet, but I'm excited about working with them in the future. Check out the page they put together for me.

Putting My Name Out There.

I've started down the path to self publishing. I didn't even bother with traditional publishers because I didn't want to waste all of that time and money when I could focus on writing my next book instead.

So would you like to hear about my current projects that are at the front of my mind? Awesome sauce.

Cherry Wood (Available May 1)

Let me just share what I have written for the back cover since I always trip over the explanation trying to avoid spoilers.

What happens when two strangers who are running away from their past meet? What if their pasts overlap in unexpected ways?

Will- went to an outstanding college and got an MBA and a high-paying job and one day left it all behind because his grandfather taught him to “never have a job you can’t walk away from.” He left his rich family, his girlfriend, and his job without a word or a second thought. After twelve years as a migrant farmer, perhaps he has found a reason to stick around.

Patri- an artist and a free spirit, Patri has been running and hiding for the past decade. She isn’t open with her secrets or her trust, but there is something about Will Staige that convinces her to take a chance.

There comes a time when you have to stop running away from your past, and move toward something. Have Will and Patri found that time together?

Young Mutants in Love (Hopefully ready by October 1)

What if a young man and a young woman saw something in the sky while they were holding hands during an Astronomy lab? What if what they saw changed them? (For example, they wake up the next morning looking like your typical superheroes.) What if they discovered that when they hold hands they can not only switch bodies, but also gain super powers?

That's the premise behind Young Mutants in Love.

To that mix, you can also insert an evil villain that can turn normally benign creatures into monsters, and a strange group of men in grey track suits, and you've got an exciting story on your hands.