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You Provide the Bear, I’ll Bring the Pudding…

By Greg | April 10, 2013 - 8:00 am | Announcements, The Thirty Minute Reader, WTF Wednesday

I’ve experimented with a few different segments, here at Live the Story, including the 30 Minute Reader, WTF Wednesday, and probably a few other, less memorable memes. Despite my best intentions, events in the real world continually conspire to keep me from blogging.

Well, I’m here to say that I thumb my nose at the real world, even though I don’t have the vaguest idea what that means. Seriously, have you ever seen someone thumb their nose?

But, I digress. I am thumbing my nose at the real world and blogging to you from the deepest, scariest places beneath my writing cave–it’s the only place where I can hide from my house-elf duties! I am going to continue with the 30-Minute Reader and WTF Wednesday segments with as much regularity as possible. This means you can expect at least ONE more of each post before the New Year.

(Listening to inaudible voices…)

Yes, I know it’s only April. Get off my back!

I began the 30 minute reader segment last year with two books, Dead: The Ugly Beginning by Todd (TW) Brown, and Carats and Coconuts by DD Scott. My friend Catie Rhodes (also my favorite blogger, and a righteously cool chick!) discovered Todd’s zombie books from that segment, and became a fan. Since both Todd and Catie have new books out, I am going to re-launch the 30 Minute Reader next Tuesday, April 09, 2013, with their new books.

Here’s how it works. I read a book for thirty minutes. I take notes on my thoughts, opinions, and whether or not the language I love is being abused. I blog about it. I try to keep it light and fun, but sometimes I have to go off. That’s just the way it is. I consider Todd and Catie as friends…

“What?… So?… It’s MY blog. I’ll feature my friends’ work if I want… If they don’t like it, they can go… Oh, great. Now you tell me.”

…as friends, but I will still shred them if they need shredding (and can’t afford my bribe).

I want you to get these books and read along, keep me honest, and set me straight if you disagree with my opinion.

Todd’s book is That Ghoul Ava and the Queen of the Zombies.

That Ghoul Ava

Blurb:

Ava Birch killed herself and woke up a ghoul with an attitude and a hunger for the dead.

With no manual and very little help coming from the supernatural community, Ava offers her services to the regional psychic. Her newest job? Apparently zombies have been spotted in a small town nearby.

Ava wades in thinking that this job will be a piece of cake…or at least as tasty. Navigating meddling vampires, bothersome witches, and a peculiar case of memory loss…and now her best friend and human companion has up and walked out.

Things go from bad to worse when Ava discovers that there is a force behind these recent zombie sightings that may date back to the time of the Black Plague.

Sometimes a ghoul would just rather stay in bed…or at least her sound proof basement where nobody can hear you scream.

Catie’s book, her debut novel, by the way, is called Forever Road.

Forever Road

Blurb:

Seeing ghosts is rough, but owing a ghost a favor flat out sucks.

My name’s Peri Jean Mace, and I’ve seen ghosts ever since I can remember. Don’t get too excited. Seeing across the veil branded me as a loony during my growing up years, and I learned to keep my yap shut about it.

Now I’m not sure I can anymore.

See, my cousin up and got herself killed the very same day I promised her a favor. Now she’s back in spirit form and determined to make me pay. If I don’t solve her murder, she’s going to haunt me forever. Talk about the debt collector from hell.

That’s not my only problem. An obnoxiously hot cop wants to arrest my best friend for the murder. My bigmouthed archenemy holds a clue to the killer’s identity. And there’s this mean—and ugly—woman who wants to beat me up.

None of this can turn out good.

Download! Read! Discuss! If you want them, but you blew your Book Budget on gun powder and militia badges, ask me nicely in the comments, and I will gift a copy of each to one lucky reader.

Two more things:

1. I’m collecting reviews for my debut novel Children of the Plague. You can buy it at most eBook retailers, or if you have time to read and write a review, I’ll gift you an eBook copy. Just ask for a review copy in the comments.

7. Apocalypstick is now free at most online retailers. Not for a limited time. For. Ev. Er. I hope you enjoy it. Read Killing Tiffany Hudson before Children of the Plague!

D. If you have a blog and are brave enough to let me and my invisible friends guest post, interview, or nude pudding-wrestle a miniature Koala Bear, let me know, and I’ll put it on my calendar. You provide the bear, I’ll bring the pudding.

Launch Event Blast at Beach Book Blast Launch Event!

By Greg Carrico | August 16, 2012 - 11:06 am | Announcements

5 Comments

The following is a transcript of the tragic broadcast announcement of the Beach Book Blast Launch event, that you Won’t see on the cable news channels. It was never aired. Read for yourself, and see what “They” are trying to hide.

begin transcript:

Greg Carrico

I’m Greg Carrico, reporting from Live the Story’s New York headquarters. Something Amazing is happening today. I’m told that a small group of bloggers will be launching twelve authors into orbit! This is breaking news, so I’ll fill you in as I get it. All I know is that NASA spokesmen are saying… Hang on… Sorry about that. NASA has been alarmingly quiet on this. My people in the field are on top of this, and we’ll be bringing this story to you as it unfolds. Stay tuned for a live feed from… Well, when I find out, I’ll let you know. This is Greg Carrico, and I’ll be back with more in a moment from Live the Story.

News is trickling in on this odd story, so let me bring you up to date with a few corrections. The authors being launched into space today are all, in fact, part of that mysterious group called Indies. Earlier, I said that there were twelve, and I’ve just been told that there are now a full baker’s dozen; that’s thirteen for those of you who’ve never seen me at a bakery. Oh, stand by. More data are coming in right now.

Well, this is a big announcement! My PIFs

A PIF working on the story

(People in the Field, keep up!) have confirmed that the bloggers responsible for this launch have no affiliation with NASA, and are part of something called WG2E, which is, I believe, and acronym for We Get 2 Eat. I don’t know what a space launch of authors has to do with food, but stay with us, and we’ll find out together.

Well, this is what I look like when I’m embarrassed. I have to apologize for a couple of factual errors that I shared this morning. Our fact checking PIF has called in sick, and with breaking stories, we do run the risk of making a few mistakes. The WG2E are not a group of eating contest winners, as we first thought, though some of their members may be. They are the Writer’s Guide to ePublishing, a group of writers dedicated to eradicating lewd puppy photos

Forced into a life of depravity by a Book Blaster!

from the internet. Sorry, bear with…

(What? So none of this crap is right? I’ve been up here saying all of this insane sh… huh? The Mic is still on? That’s great! This better never see the light of… Huh? Live!?!)

Sorry about that folks! You just heard my, uh, producers practicing for a variety show skit. Boy, are they funny? Stay tuned for more!

Aaaaaand, Back! Let me apologize once more to everyone for the very slight factual errors we reported today. I have now confirmed the following:

There are Fifteen(ish) authors, belonging to the radical Beach Book Blast subgroup of the WG2E Street Terror Team subgroup of the Writer’s Guide to ePublishing subgroup of the DD Scott Galactic publishing empire, and they are launching their brand new explosive books of various genres into geosynchronous orbit above Manhattan NY in a group event at the Beach Book Blast blog, on the Book Blast Facebook page, and on Twitter using the #BeachBookBlast tag. It will happen this evening from 8PM until 11PM New York time.

I understand that so the greatest number of people will witness this unprecedented attack, the public is being enticed to participate with ‘door prizes’ at the Facebook page, and a raffle for some awesome prizes, including a new type of WMD called a Kindle Fire at the blog. They will be launching their books with the new RG2E-168.b rocket, and… Oh, good grief. Hang on.

(What do you mean there’s no freaking rocket? What next? They aren’t radical terrorists? But you said Indie Authors!)

Breaking news: I’m quitting my job as a newscaster. Get the real story at these other (legitimate) blogs and websites:

(How did All of these other blogs get this story right and I got this mess of fairy tales?? You’re all fired! Turn the Mic off!)

end transcript.

For the Real story:

1. Visit the Beach Book Blast Launch Event page for the real scoop, a lot of fun, and prizes that you’ll actually like!

2. Like the Beach Book Blast Facebook Page so you can join the

3. Facebook page Launch Event and get door prizes

4. Join the conversation on Twitter leading up to tonight’s launch by following #BeachBookBlast

5. Visit Rhonda Hopkins’ and Kristine Cayne’s very amazing blogs for Q&A with the authors

6. Visit the Authors’ pages and our WG2E and RG2E blogs (win free copies of the Launch books at the RG2E):

Alicia and Roy Street

Dale Amidei

Debra Burroughs

L.C. Giroux

Liz Jasper

Liz Matis

Stacey Joy Netzel

Natalie G. Owens

Janice Palko

Christina Routon

Sheila Seabrook

Lily Silver

*lizzie starr

Kiru Taye

Tamara Ward

Win a Free Kindle Fire* at the Beach Book Blast

By Greg Carrico | May 11, 2012 - 8:31 am | Announcements

1 Comment

Beach Book Blast

Since I didn’t mention the Free Kindle Fire* in my previous Beach Book Blast post, and I was (purposefully) a bit cryptic, allow me, if you will, to clarify. Here is what Beach Book Blast is, and how it got started:

Early this month,

Tamara Ward, author of Storm Surge, Jade O’Reilly and the Ice Queen, and contributing author to the The WG2E All-For-Indies Anthologies: Winter Wonderland Edition, sent an innocent email to a small group of writers, asking if any of us would like to team up with her and offer a book for free on the same day(s). I thought this was a great idea, and so did a couple of other authors, so we started planning.

It turns out that more than couple of us thought it sounded good. Tamara’s little email with her great idea has blossomed into quite the big event. Now, less than two weeks later, we have

A Big Event, with:

A Date: May 23rd-25th,
A Name: Beach Book Blast,

a website,
a facebook page,
a Pinterest board,
a dozen Free eBooks, and
Ten 99 cent eBooks, by
Fifteen Amazing Authors
and did I mention a Free Kindle Fire* for one lucky reader?

I’d like to give Big Thanks to Indie Author Powerhouse and Pay it Forward Goddess, D. D. Scott, founder of the WG2E and the RG2E, for the Kindle Fire, and for including All of her books in the Beach Book Blast!

“Big Deal?” you ask. “I can get Free eBooks just about anywhere,” you say.

You are right! Thanks to Amazon’s Kindle Select program, authors offer their books for free all the time. So why is this different?

We are a group of writers dedicated to helping each other improve our craft, our skills, and our ability to personally connect with our readers. Beach Book Blast is our way of helping readers find some great new books by promoting some incredible indie writers. If you look at our bio page, you’ll Best Selling, Award Winning, indie and traditionally published, and international authors of just about any Genre you like.

So save the date. The Beach Book Blast officially begins on May 23rd, and ends three short days later, on May 25th 2012. Be nice to your friends, and tell them about it, too. They want free books and a chance to win that free Kindle Fire*, too.

[notice]*Earn multiple chances to win a free Kindle Fire by choosing any or all of the Rafflecopter options on the Beach Book Blast website. You don’t have to wait for the event to start. Start earning your extra contest entries Right Now![/notice]

[important]PS. You can get an early bird preview today and tomorrow, with free books by Meredith Bond and LC Giroux![/important]

Thirty Minute Reader, The Return!

By Greg Carrico | April 17, 2012 - 10:41 am | Reading Now, The Thirty Minute Reader

2 Comments

Hi there! Oh! Well, thank you! It’s great to be back! I’m still reading and writing and reviewing, but this week I’ve mostly been writing. I wrote a post over the weekend, but it turned into a rambling rant about a topic that has been done by better folks than yours truly. Here, for example, by Kristin Lamb. I decided I’d better stick with talking about the stuff I’ve been reading. In books, that is.

Before I jump in, though, I just want to say how much I really enjoy reading Indie authors. There is so much creativity and talent that we readers have been denied by the templates of big 6 publishers, and what an agent thinks she can sell. I’m not Anti-traditional publishing at all. I’m just glad that there is a bit more to choose from, and that I get to see NEW ideas in fiction. Take a look at the indie authors at your favorite bookseller, and buy a couple of their books. You’ll see what I mean.

If this is your first Thirty Minute Review post, go back to the beginning, and see what you’ve missed.

Aaaaaaand, back.

I have finally made a little time for some catch up reading, and I’m so glad that I did. I got to the halfway point in Dead: The Ugly Beginning last night. I was getting a little worried about the vignettes, to be honest. I was afraid they were going make the whole book feel like a bunch of left over scenes that were thrown in to fill up some space, and turn a short story into a full length novel. I admit it, I had a crisis of faith. The thing is, I couldn’t stop reading it, regardless of which part of the story I was on. It’s all good stuff.

So I better go ahead and say ‘Sorry’ for doubting you, Todd.

image from http://theinevitablezombieapocalypse.com/page/50

I’m happy to admit that I was wrong. Every time I think I know where this book is taking me, Bam! We swerve onto a side street that I didn’t even know was there. It makes for an exciting ride.

I looked back at the stuff I highlighted while reading last night (something I usually do when I find disagreeable grammar), and every item was something I thought was particularly fun, clever, or just wanted to read again. I’m not going to give anything away, but the scene on the highway with the station wagon and the baby… Brilliant! I want more. Happily, I have about half of the book to go.

But first, I have to tell you what’s going on in D.D. Scott’s Carats and Coconuts. After the first story in the book, I am into the actual Carats and Coconuts part. All can say at this point is that more I read these characters, the more fun they are.

D.D.’s narrative style is so easy going, that she can feed you a few bites of back-story, and it will taste just like the main course. It’s sort of like listening to the stories your favorite tells after a long, crazy vacation. You have to imagine that your aunt it really good at it, though.

Even though I’m meeting the characters somewhere after the first book in this series, we’re becoming pretty good friends. I’m not even terribly upset that I’m not the funny one of the gang, either. No, I’m ok with it. Really, it’s alright, I’m fine. Can we just drop it?

I’ll catch you up again next week. Until then,

Cheers!

Greg

Thirty Minute Reader Double Header

By Greg Carrico | March 28, 2012 - 11:50 am | Reading Now, The Thirty Minute Reader

9 Comments

I read for an entire hour last night, and yes it was luxurious. I wanted to make up for lost time, so this is a Super Bonus Double Happy post with updates on both Carats and Coconuts, by Dee Dee Scott, and TW Brown’s Dead: The Ugly Beginning.

I may make another Thirty Minute Reader post this week, time allowing, but deadlines are looming, and I know that one or two of you are eager to read the follow up to Killing Tiffany Hudson, one of the stories from Apocalypstick.

Dead: The Ugly Beginning
By TW Brown

Let’s begin with Dead, shall we? In my previous Dead post, I was curious about where this story was going. There were tons of new characters introduced in the 1^st Vignettes section, and I’m eager to see how or if they are related, and if I’ll see any of them again; the ones who survived, that is. Brown does a great job of making them all seem like very real people. Some are decent, some are, well… not. We get to see a good bit how awful we can be to each other when society breaks down, and baddies want to eat our brains.

Honestly, I’m still not sure where it’s all going, but so far, it’s fun ride. I guess not knowing when the next corner is coming adds a bit of excitement, so I’m digging it.

You can buy this cool sign here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/81027602/zombie-sign-gift-zombies-please-use-side

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say again: Brown has a true gift for making me feel like I’m right there with the main character. I get nervous when he hears something behind that door, and is about to open it. It’s almost interactive.

After checking in on the first story line again, I’m ended the session at the start of vignettes II. More on that later, but first…

Carats and Coconuts
By Dee Dee Scott

So far in Carats and Coconuts, Scott has introduced me to some very wacky characters, and made me like them. She has put me in an absurd setting, and made it fun. She has set before me, a plot that may very well be all in the mind of the main character’s delusional father, yet the entire cast of characters is going along with it.

Is this situation real? Is it imaginary? Are the characters just going along with it, are they orchestrating it, or is their world a Hogwarts-like realm of magic hidden in plain sight?

Am I reading too deeply, and wondering too much? Yes! I absolutely am… I think….

image from http://www.duffymasterson.ca/wpblog/

Carats is a fun, light hearted tale that makes me smile, even as I roll my eyes. This is new territory for me, and I have to learn how to read it. It is rather like a magic show. It’s loads of fun, but could be even more rewarding if I stopped trying to look up the magician’s sleeve to spot his tricks.

Last night, I read through the first action-ish sequence, and just like the setting, the characters, and the plot, it is rife with ridiculousness, and had me laughing out loud. It was just what I needed.

If you are reading along with me, let me know what you think so far. If not, come on, it’s only half an hour a day. Anyone can be a Thirty Minute Reader!

A little slower… yeah, just like that.

By Greg Carrico | March 20, 2012 - 10:56 am | Reading Now, The Thirty Minute Reader

2 Comments

Another half hour in the fantasy world of Carats and Coconuts has brought me to chapter eight. I know what you’re thinking. “This guy’s a slow reader.” Well, sometimes, yes.

image from: http://thepolkadotshoes.blogspot.com/2010_11_01_archive.html

There are times when I fly through the pages of a book, gulping down the story as quickly as possible to get to the next page. There are other times when I want to take it in smaller bites; one word, and one sentence at a time to catch every flavor and texture the author has stirred in.

This was a section that I wanted to take a little slower. It was the part where we get to take a glimpse at the main character’s “normal” home life, and see what her childhood must also have been like. It establishes the loving relationship she has with her parents and her husband, and also builds the handsome prince up a little more in his awesomeness. Blah blah blah. In other words, it was very rich in description.

Now, if I hear that some author is spending page upon page describing something to me, I’d probably rather have a spinal tap than read it, but that’s not what’s going on here. I’m not going to give away any spoilers, but just trust me. Ms. Scott deserves a shout out for her skill at sticking us in a chair next to her characters without overdosing us on unnecessary details.

Here’s the coolest part, though. It never stops being funny! It’s not a Buddy Hackett (Google him, kids), in-your-face funny the whole time, (thankfully!) but it’s filled with clever bits of humor that kept me smiling until Bam! She smacks me upside the head with a C-PAP machine! Hilarious!

So, I’d like to raise a glass. Here’s to pacing, skillful writing, clever humor, and Buddy Hackett. And on second thought, kids, maybe it would be best if you didn’t Google him, after all. Just keep reading Carats and Coconuts…

Be sure to come back on Thursday, and I’ll bring you up to speed on Dead: The Ugly Beginning, by TW Brown.

How much description do you like to get from an author? Do you need to be told in detail what a character looks like, what she’s wearing, how she walks, or do you just want to know the important stuff so you can paint your own picture?

Carats and Coconuts is absurd… and I dare you not to like it.

By Greg Carrico | March 15, 2012 - 12:43 pm | Reading Now

11 Comments

**Spoilers- but not that bad. I’m just getting started…**

So, last night, I read some more of Carats and Coconuts. I think I’m on Chapter Five, now. If you don’t know yet, I just started reading it, and it is my very first ever Romance Novel. Oops! Rom-Com! I meant Rom-Com. I’ve already made a big deal of the fact that I am not Dee Dee‘s target demographic, but good writing is good writing, and can be enjoyed for its own sake, no matter the genre. That’s kind of the whole point behind my Reading Diversification Three Point Plan To Find New Indie Authors program, or RDTPPTFNIA, as I call it for my friends in the federal government and the Society for Creative Acronyms, or SCA, as I call it for… ah, never mind. If you are new to this blog, (of course you are, it’s a new blog!) you’ll learn that, sometimes, I digress.

Back to the book. To be clear, I am enjoying Carats and Coconuts. It’s a great bedtime read for me, because I find myself smiling at the sheer absurdity of the… of the… well, the whole thing! The main character is married to a Prince. I don’t mean he’s just a great guy, but a real Prince. An Italian Duke, nonetheless (Do they really have those?). But somehow, it’s a fake marriage, I think. Her parents are deluded, and believe that they are Santa and Mrs. Claus, but otherwise seems to function normally. They actually arrive at the private airstrip where her private jet just landed, in a big sleigh pulled by reindeer. I won’t name them, but you probably could. Her prince of a man, who has something in the neighborhood of fifteen names, takes it all in stride, of course, because, hey, he’s a prince, and that’s how he rolls.

I know, right? Absurd? Bear with…

I would probably enjoy the humor even more if I had read the earlier books in the series, but honestly, it doesn’t matter. There are some inside jokes that I’m not getting, but I don’t care. It’s funny. It’s fun. It’s original. It’s completely ludicrous, and I can’t wait until tomorrow night, when I get to read more. Yes, it has to wait until tomorrow, because tonight I am indulging in some delicious, putrescent zombie flesh, courtesy of Dead: The Ugly Beginning, by the Horrifying Todd (TW) Brown, or TWB, as I call him…

What are you reading? Chime in and let me know what you think of your book, so far. If you need something to read, grab the books on my Goodreads shelf, and join the discussion, or head over the RG2E, and ask for a free copy of their featured book(s). You’ll probably get one! They give them away every day. FULL DISCLOSURE: the RG2E is owned by Carats and Coconuts author Dee Dee Scott. She hasn’t asked me to read or review her book, and I don’t think she even knows I’m doing this. I won this book, and several others on the WG2E, but am not affiliated with or beholden to them, except that I think they have a cool site with a great goal: Bring Readers and Authors together. Darnit! My disclosure became a promo! Oh, well. Deal with it!

Cheers!

Greg

Please don’t tell my brothers…

By Greg Carrico | March 14, 2012 - 3:29 am | Reading Now

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Tag Archives: Dee Dee Scott

You Provide the Bear, I’ll Bring the Pudding…

Like this:

Launch Event Blast at Beach Book Blast Launch Event!

Like this:

Win a Free Kindle Fire* at the Beach Book Blast