Celebrate Earth Day and get a free eco-fiction sampler

Earth Day is about a week away and Ashland Creek Press is offering an eco-sampler and book giveaway.

Here are the rules:

Simply email Ashland Creek Press at editors [at] ashlandcreekpress [dot] com, on or before April 22, using the subject line EARTH DAY, and you'll receive a copy of our Eco-Fiction Sampler, which features excerpts of six works of environmental fiction.

You'll also be entered to win a copy of one of these six eco-fiction titles -- we're giving away one environmentally friendly e-book and one paperback (printed on paper from Sustainable Forestry Initiative certified sourcing), so please mention your preference in your email.

When you enter the giveaway, you'll be added to our mailing list, from which you can unsubscribe at any time (and your info will never be shared).

For more about Ashland Creek Press, click here. For more about our environmental literature, click here.

Happy Earth Day!

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep

 The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
 But I have promises to keep,
 And miles to go before I sleep,
 And miles to go before I sleep.

- Robert Frost, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Got questions?

My publisher forwards me emails from reviewers and bloggers and I realized today that you -- that is, you the many millions of fine readers who happen upon this blog every day -- might also want to get in touch.

As a recluse I'm rather difficult to reach.  But if you use this form my publisher will forward along your email.

So if you have any questions, fire away...

I'm huge in Canada

My book is now available (virtually) north of the border.

Of course, it looks like I could use a few stars there...

The road ahead

I don't know, you know?

I don't know what readers want to read.

I don't know how to save the planet.

I don't know what I'm going to write after I finish book three.

All I do know is...

I know what I want to read.

I know what I'm doing to save the planet.

Now I just have to figure out what to write after I finish book three.

You know?

And now for some good reviews!

Wouldn't you know it.

Right after I publish a rather snarky post about bad reviews my publisher ups and points me to two very good reviews:

"I loved The Ghost Runner as much as I loved the first book, Out of Breath," reads this 5-star review of The Ghost Runner."
-- Bookingly Yours

The Lithia Trilogy, which blends adventure and the paranormal with environmental awareness and Shakespeare, offers an exciting new series in young adult fiction.
-- Books, Books & More Books

Thanks to everyone who loved books one and two. It inspires me to finish book three!

Bad reviews suck

I try.

I try not to look at them.

The reviews.

And for the most part I've succeeded in avoiding the reviews.

But the Internet is the devil's playground. One minute you're doing some innocent research on Wikipedia and the next minute you're reading a particularly painful review of your book.

And I get upset. I stomp around. I curse the reviewer's name and wonder why she or he didn't "get it."

But then I cool down and remind myself that books are like people.

Some people you like and some you don't.

As a writer, I want my book to be liked, though I know not everyone will "get it."

And that's fine. Many people don't "get" me.

But bad reviews still suck.

Fortunately, some people do "get" me. Like this reviewer.

Okay, no more reading reviews! Time to starting writing again.

PS: If you've read either Out of Breath or The Ghost Runner -- and liked it -- please consider writing a review. We authors may say publicly that reviews don't matter -- but they do.

My last free book of 2012

It must be the holidays.

Or my generous spirit.

Or maybe I've just got too many books taking up space on my desk.

Nah, it's my generous spirit.

Which is why I'm giving away one more free copy of The Ghost Runner on Goodreads.

The deadline is Dec. 31, so signup now!

Happy Holidays...

Here's to anonymity

I am the anonymous writer.

Blair Richmond is my pen name, or alias. It is my ticket to freedom. And, true, I shouldn't care what people think, but I do. I can't help it. And, under the veil of Blair Richmond, I don't worry about my neighbor secretly judging me because of what I wrote about the cute but slightly creepy town of Lithia.

I just write.

I realize I can't exactly go on a book tour or do a radio interview, and this may get in the way of the book's success.

But I think the tradeoffs are worth it.

And it was nice to see in this article that I'm far from alone in the pen name department.

Here are some other pen names you may recognize (and their real names):

• Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens)
• George Orwell (Eric Arthur Blair)
• Pablo Neruda (Neftali Ricardo Reyes Basoalto)
• Lewis Caroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson)
• George Sand (Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin)

Maybe someday I'll come clean. But given such good company, why the rush?

They Lighted the Way

A second chance at a free copy of The Ghost Runner

I'm giving away another copy of The Ghost Runner on Goodreads.

Here's the link.

Just five days to go people.

And for those of you who purchased a copy so far -- thank you!

I'm hard at work on book three.