Well, success! I finally did! It’s now in her hot little hands and pretty soon we’ll have a book cover, so at least we’re making progress! Yep, “Takers III” is later than promised, but it’s coming, honest it is!
And you won’t want to miss it, because there are some serious twists and turns in this one! 
We’re doing a free promo for Takers on Amazon, through
tomorrow (Monday, October 1st)!What does this mean? It means we need as many people as possible to download Takers from Amazon between now and Monday night. The book will be FREE during that time, so it won’t cost you a cent (or a penny!)
As well as downloading it, we need everyone to “like” the book (up near the title there’s a little “like” button) and also tag it. The tags, for those who haven’t seen them, are further down the page. Click on all the little squares next to the tags that exist, click the link that says “Agree with these tags,” and add your own tags if you can think of any. The whole thing should take no more than a couple of minutes.
IMPORTANT NOTE: You don’t have to read the book if you don’t want to. We realize that it might not be your thing…but read the reviews first, before you decide for sure. It’s not like most vampire books you’ve read. But while we’d LOVE you to read it, and we’d love reviews — they are very important — we will seriously be grateful just for the download, the likes and the tags.
Here are the links (please let me know if you can’t see these):
http://www.amazon.com/TAKERS-ebook/dp/B0061MWG76 (US)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/TAKERS-ebook/dp/B0061MWG76 (UK)
ASIN: B0061MWG76 (this can be used to search for the book if the links don’t work on Amazon where you are – the ASINs are always the same no matter what part of the world you are in).
Spread the word if you can. Facebook, Twitter… The more people that do this, the more headway we’ll make. The book will get pushed up the “free” listings at Amazon and then will get a lot more attention when it flips back to “paid” status. This is an absolutely legitimate promotional strategy that a lot of people use, and Amazon is fine with it.
We are very proud of Chris for this well-deserved win! We’re also celebrating it as a very good omen for the future of Plotfish Press, since “Takers” was also the first book out of the gate for our publishing company!
“Takers” is the story of LAPD Police Detective Kel Langston, a loner who specializes in hunting serial killers until one night he becomes a victim himself. He survives – only to find out he’s been turned into a monster, stuck halfway between the living and the dead. And now Kel’s hunting Takers, a kind of vampire humans don’t even know exist – and don’t know how to kill. Because with Takers, your blood is only the beginning…
The Global Ebook Awards are run by Dan Poynter, owner of Para Publishing. Dan is often referred to as the “Father of Independent Publishing” and “The Book Futurist.” He has been a publisher since 1969, and has championed ebooks since the very beginning. He is also the author of more than 125 books, his seminars have been featured on CNN and his books have been reported on in The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. Jack Canfield, co-author of the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” series, credits consulting with Dan Poynter in the early stages of the series’ development as an essential ingredient of their phenomenal success.
The entries for this competition came from 16 different countries.
“Takers” and its sequel, “Takers II: Family” are both currently available as ebooks on Amazon.com and Smashwords.com. Don’t forget to leave a review!
“Takers III” vamps out in November, so stay tuned!
Click the proof-of-followers picture below to head to Smashwords, where you will need to enter the coupon code you’ll see in just a moment, in order to download “Takers” in ANY e-format you want, for FREE! Make sure to enter the coupon code when you’re checking out!
Thank you to my Twitter followers, and thank you to Plotfish Press for being so generous!
SMASHWORDS COUPON CODE: UB72T
Click to go to “Takers” on Smashwords
(Just an FYI for Amazon Kindle owners: my publisher was unable to make “Takers” totally free on Amazon.com, but you can download the Kindle format from Smashwords, along with all the other formats they offer.)
I’ve hijacked Chris’s blog to heap congratulations upon her pointy head – we found out this morning that her first novel, “Takers,” is a finalist in the 2012 Global Ebook Awards. Whoo hoo!
For those who are unfamiliar with this competition, the Global Ebook Awards are run by Dan Poynter, owner of Para Publishing. Dan is often referred to as the “Father of Independent Publishing” and “The Book Futurist.” He has been a publisher since 1969, and has championed ebooks since the very beginning. He is also the author of more than 125 books, his seminars have been featured on CNN and his books have been reported on in the The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. Jack Canfield, who you all know as the co-author of the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” series, credits consulting with Dan Poynter in the early stages of the series’ development as an essential ingredient of their phenomenal success.
The entries for this competition came from 16 different countries.
We are very proud of Chris and “Takers,” and are keeping our fingers crossed for the announcement of the winners on August 18!
Oh, and before a certain Half-Turn pays a visit to me in a dark alley…Go Kel!!
“Takers” and its sequel, “Takers II: Family,” are both currently available as ebooks on Amazon.com and Smashwords.com. Don’t forget to leave a review!
As a lifelong Navy man, Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett has been defending his country for nearly the whole of his adult life. And even though he’s now in the U.S. Navy Reserves rather than on active duty, he still defends and protects…only now, it’s as the leader of a task force in his beloved home state of Hawaii.
As the United States of America celebrates its 236th birthday this July 4, 2012, as American fans of Hawaii Five-0 gear up for barbecues, family celebrations, having to work on a federal holiday and fireworks displays, please pause for a moment in amongst your festivities or whatever it is you have going on today to think about the history of a country that your favorite Navy SEAL (fictional though he might be) took an oath to protect, even if it costs him his life.
Because all around the world, the men and women of the non-fictional US military have done that for real. And some of them won’t ever come home because of it. Americans enjoy the freedoms we have today because of more than 236 years of people giving their lives so that we, as a nation, could make it to the year twenty hundred and twelve. I wonder if the forefathers envisioned that way back in seventeen hundred and seventy-six.
Just remember that the 4th of July, or Independence Day, isn’t all about getting a day off work. It isn’t all about fireworks and firecrackers and sparklers. It isn’t all about grilled steaks, burgers and hot dogs, or potato salad, chips and beer.
It’s about service. It’s about sacrifice. It’s about the Red, White and Blue. And it’s about the people throughout our history who’ve made what you’re enjoying today, possible. People that a character such as Steve McGarrett represents.
I’m the proud granddaughter of a World War II Navy veteran, Theodore Frank Jancha, may he rest in peace. He was a hero, saving lives when his ship was torpedoed. But there have been hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of other heroes in our country’s past.
Enjoy your time with your loved ones, if that’s what you’re doing today. And even if you don’t know anyone in the US military, imagine what it would be like to live in the Hawaii Five-0 world and know that at any moment, Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett could be called on to protect our freedoms…and he would willingly do so, even if it meant him returning to Hawaii in an American flag-draped casket. That’s what pride, honor, duty and sacrifice mean. That’s why we’re independent. That’s why freedom rings across this vast country.
So Happy Independence Day, America. Thank you to all the souls who came before, who made it possible.
And Happy 4th of July, to Hawaii Five-0 fans and all Americans everywhere!
Love,
Chris
I have to say, that since becoming Head News Writer for Hawaii Five-0 Online just about a year ago now, I have met some incredible people. Everyone from the site’s founder and owner, Danielle Martin, to those people who’ve become my teammates on that site, to fans from every corner of the globe and then some.
One such person, who is both a fan and part of the H50 Online team, is a very talented writer by the name of Catherine Ross. Not only can she write, but I very much enjoy her perspective on Hawaii Five-0‘s characters and the actors who portray them. I like the fact that she tells you how she feels about them – very much like my gut reaction movie reviews you’ll find here on my site for movies that Alex O’Loughlin and Scott Caan have appeared in – and shares more and more about herself and her own life with each article she writes.
Now, you can find a lot of what Catherine has written, right on Hawaii Five-0 Online, by clicking “FOLLOW YOUR FAVORITE H50 CHARACTER” in the menu bar, and choosing which character you’d like to read about. Using what we see on-screen, Catherine fleshes these characters out, makes them much more three-dimensional…and sometimes four-dimensional…and helps fans keep straight in their minds what each character has been through and what effect those experiences have had on them.
But that’s not all Catherine does. She has her own blog now, in which she expounds not only upon the same types of things she does for H50 Online, but also talks about the Hawaii Five-0 actors, and how the show – and the actors – affect her more dramatically than they might most people. She’s honest, and that’s important to me. She’s not giving anyone lip service; she’s telling you like it is.
I also like how she takes things to the next level, questioning why certain things in the story lines were written the way they were; what the possible motivations for their actions could be. If you’re a fan of Hawaii Five-0, I suggest you bookmark Catherine’s blog, and make sure you keep checking back for her next post. Leave her some comments, tell her what you think about what she says. Enjoy someone who is a talented writer, who is volunteering her time to analyze, chew over and share with other fans her own take on the show, the characters and the actors who portray them.
Click here to be taken to Catherine’s latest blog post: a Season 2 Wrap-Up of the character Steve McGarrett.
Kudos, Catherine…you do a great job!
You can follow Catherine Ross on Twitter by clicking here, and find her on Facebook by clicking here.
Click Photo To Read "Bait and Switch"
