Back up for sale again!

Sorry for the long stretch with no posts. I've been working hard to finish re-editing Shades of Light. Now, it's back up on Amazon for sale!

My Thoughts

My thoughts go out to the victims of the Boston tragedy and the event that took place in Texas. Looks like one of the bombers in Boston is dead and the other is on the run. I've listened to so much news that I'm going into overload. The media is desperate to find any angle they can on the two men who committed the crime, which is their job.

           

Whenever something like this happens, people spend an enormous amount of time wondering why the attacker(s) did what they did. I understand that the need to know these answers is great for those who need closure. I sincerely hope that understanding doesn't breed a desire to reform someone who has done such a dastardly deed. People like that need to pay, pure and simple. And I don't mean languishing in a prison for the rest of their lives with my tax dollars feeding, clothing, and providing them with cable tv.

           

The event in Boston is not a reason to overreact and call for more security that will infringe upon the rights of citizen. People need to understand that there is only so much that can be done in this dangerous world without turning us into a police state where our every movement is watched, and our rights gone. If you can't understand that the world is treacherous and that there's a risk in going out into it, then stay home where it's safe.

A word about my book. I pulled it from sales outlets such as Amazon to do some much-needed editing. It will be back up soon.

Updates to the Curtisberry.net website

Updates to the http://www.curtisberry.net/ site.

1. Update to Flower of Chaos, a free weekly story about Linnae the thief and Quroth the Barbarian.

2. Here is a link to a petition to stop Amazon from buying a book for a week and then returning, thus giving a reader plenty of time to read the book and return it for there money back. Click HERE to sign the petition.
...
3. Update to Riddle and Quote.

4. A not-so-great line from a novel, somewhere.

“The drugged parrots pelted the village like a hellish rain of feathered fanny packs stuffed with claws and porridge, rendering Claudia’s makeshift rabbit-skin umbrella more symbolic than anything else.”

Updates to the curtisberry.net site!

1. Update to Flower of Chaos, a free weekly story about Linnae the thief and Quroth the Barbarian.

2. New Riddle and Quote.

3. Check out this cute story about a cat and an ape becoming friends.

4. Article called How to Avoid Writer's Block: Writing Rituals

5. New artwork for the upcoming book Rise of the Serpents: Book Two of the Walker Chronicles. Character is Khurias and artwork is by Ron Leary, Jr.

 

 

New Random House electronic service Hydra sucks

Random House Publishing's electronic-only imprint service (Hydra) deal sheet for authors is horrible. Check out this article by John Scalzi detailing why.

Updates to Curtisberry.net

1. Update to Flower of Chaos, a free weekly story about Linnae the thief and Quroth the Barbarian.
          

2. Updates to Riddle and Quote.

          

3. Tips for Critquing other Writers' Work by Melissa Donvan

 

Latest Updates to the Curtisberry.net site

1. Update to Flower of Chaos, a free weekly story about Linnae the thief and Quroth the Barbarian.
           

2. Updates to the Riddle and Quote.

           

3. Interesting blog entry by Travis Luedke concerning Amazon's stance on free Ebook promotion.

           

4. Kristen Stewart and final Twilight movie honored at the 2013 Razzies. Read the story HERE.

New Character Art for Rise of the Serpents: Book Two of the Walker Chronicles

Check out the character art below by Ron Leary, Jr. It's for Garak the dwarf, one of the characters in the upcoming book Rise of the Serpernts: Book Two of the Walker Chronicles.

New Goodies on the Curtisberry.net website!

1. Update to Flower of Chaos, a free weekly story about Linnae the thief and Quroth the Barbarian.

2. Updates to weekly Riddle and Quote

3. Cool article about writing flashbacks by Linda Claire called Writing Effective Flashbacks.

4. Added link for author T.K. McEachin to the Links Page.

5. Artwork for Rise of the Serpents: Book Two of the Walker Chronicles. Below is King Ehlos Bolgar, by Ron Leary, Jr.

Updates to curtisberry.net!

 1. Update to Flower of Chaos, a free weekly story about Linnae the thief and Quroth the Barbarian.
           

2. An article by Susan Morris where R.A. Salvatore talks about creating good fight scenes.

           
3. Updates to weekly Riddle and Quote.
           

Why?

That's a question I've been asking myself recently. The answer is simple: I love being clever and creating clever stories. I imagine that's one of many reasons writers ply their craft.

But then another question arises. Why bother to show it to others? I, by nature, am not a people person and never will be. I can be as charming as the next guy and make everyone around me laugh, but I can also be a jerk. Hey, who isn't at one time or another? I have a low threshold for people at times, and I tend to seek privacy more often than not. I've traditionally only cared what a few people think of me. In short, I'm not what one might call "sociable." Then why do I put my work out there for people, most likely strangers, to see? Why do I care?

Some might say it's a power trip. Could be. Money? Considering that first time indie authors don't usually make money, and that I had resolved myself *not* to make very much money until I built up a readership, I wouldn't say money was my motivation. My book Shades of Light: Book One of the Walker Chronicles has done far better than the few sales I hoped to see. The fact I've made enough money to cover the costs involved in the whole endeavor is just gravy.

After doing a lot of soul-searching, I decided my main reason for putting out my writings was to make others smile. When I first discovered books as a kid, I read a great deal and enjoyed a good story more than anything. I loved being transported away from my mundane world into places where my imagination went wild. That explains why I eventually began considering my own fantasy world and stories within it. When someone tells me how much they enjoyed my story, I truly get a warm feeling of accomplishment knowing that someone appreciates my work and was impressed by it.

Another side note concerning satisfaction would be that a friend of mine has begun devoting more time to writing a story he's been thinking about for a while. He said that when he saw what I'd done and how successful I was, not to mention that he liked the story, he became motivated to write. I was stunned and tickled pink when I heard that. Nothing beats the feeling of knowing that you've made a positive impact on someone else.

So write because you want money, praise, satisfaction, whatever. Just write if you have something to create. It's fun!

Updates to CurtisBerry.net!!

1. Update to Flower of Chaos, a free weekly story about Linnae the thief and Quroth the Barbarian.

2. Addition of info page for Rise of the Serpents: Book Two of the Walker Chronicles.

3. An interesting article about book purchasing by Lauralynn Elliott called What Catches Your Eye and Makes You Buy?

4. I'd like to hear from those of you who have read the book. There are a lot of them selling, but only 10 reviews have shown up on Amazon. Tell the old man what you think by emailing him at curtiswberry@gmail.com

 

 

A milestone for Shades of Light!

Just over a month for sale, and Shades of Light: Book One of the Walker Chronicles has sold 704 copies! Thank you to everyone who has purchased a copy!

Curtis

New Book out from Dianne Gardner!

Author Dianne Gardner has put out a new book called The Dragon Shield. Check it out at Amazon.com! I read the book and it's a great continuation of the Ian's Realm Saga about a computer generated world in peril and the young man who goes there to help save it. Great read!

New Updates to http://www.curtisberry.net

Updates to http://www.curtisberry.net/

1. Update to Flower of Chaos, a free weekly story about Linnae the thief and Quroth the Barbarian.
2. Update to the weekly riddle and quote.
3. News article about J.J. Abrams being name director of the next Star Wars Movie. Click HERE
... 4. Funny site where they take video clips and add bad lip synching to them. It's called Bad Lip Reading.
5. Here's an interesting article called Avoiding Self-Publishing Scams by Allan Douglas.
6. Below is a possible cover for the second book in the Walker Chronicles series called Rise of the Serpents.

Time for some humor!

http://www.youtube.com/user/BadLipReading

Updates to CurtisBerry.net site!

Well I'm up to chapter 5 in the next book in the Walker series called Rise of the Serpents. Check out the site updates below and a new piece of artwork for Rise of the Serpents by Ron Leary, Jr.

 1. Update to Flower of Chaos, a free weekly story about Linnae the thief and Quroth the Barbarian.

2. Cool article on world building called "Where R U? Creating a Fantasy World"
3. Addition of a link to author E.S. Tilton's Author Page to the links page.

How to Create Complex Heroes

Check out this cool article. It's called Tolkein's 5 Steps for Creating Complex Heroes.

Site Updates for Curtis Berry.net

1. New Riddle and Quote
2. Update to Flower of Chaos, the free ongoing weekly story by Curtis
3. A cool video trailer for Benjamin Snider's book Once Upon a Dream.
4. A cool video trailer for Angela Meadon's book A Taste of You.
5. Addition of author Ame Tsuki's webpage in the Links section.
6. Addition of Dianne Gardner's art site.
7. Very interesting article about Amazon and independent publishers by Joseph Milligan called Amazon.com: Stop Amazon's Assault on Independent Publishers and Distributers.

Fun time!

Time for some humor. Check out the site below to see some really BAD book covers.
           

http://lousybookcovers.tumblr.com/

New FREE short story!

I've uploaded a short story to Smashwords so everyone can access it as a FREE ebook. It's called Disease. Enjoy!

Lots of Updates to the Site!!

Updates to the site are as follows:

1. New riddle and quote

2. Check out this interesting article on the decline of print as ebook sales increase. It's called Analyst: Publishers Seeing Steady Print Declines Should Ready by Steep Drop by Jeremy Greenfield.
3. Check out this cool book trailer for The Dragon Shield, the second installment in the Ian's Realm Series by Dianne Gardner. You'll love it!
4. What's Curtis reading? A short story by J.C. Harker called A Dragon's Path to Ascension. Click HERE for more information!
5. Update to the free ongoing story Flower of Chaos with new character image!

Also, I'll be having a signed book giveaway soon! Keep your eyes peeled!

Update to Flower of Chaos story and an article.

Ah, a new year and new hopes, dreams and rising gas prices. I'm adding that one to death and taxes as certainties. Anyhoo, below are some additions to the site.
           

1. Addition to Flower of Chaos, a free ongoing story for your to enjoy. I've even added character portraits.

2. An informative artible in Amanda Hocking's Blog about approaching the writing and selling of your book. It's called An Epic Tale of How It All Happened.