Free Kindle Edition of Dragon Guard

Happy Holidays, everyone! To celebrate the season, I'm going to play Santa Claus to one lucky person with my book, Dragon Guard. I'm going to gift, though Amazon, a Kindle copy of the book, a Young Adult Contemporary Fantasy Adventure with plenty of zombies and other undead creatures, and even a bit o' romance! You can decide if you want to keep it for yourself or gift it to a friend or family member. I even have a preview hub set up where you can read the first four chapters (and, of course, on the above Amazon link, you can preview it, as well).

How do you win? Simple! All you have to do is post a comment in this post or retweet it on Twitter. I'll be tweeting official entry tweets over the next couple of days, so keep an eye out. Follow me here if you don't already! I'll keep the contest open until about midway Christmas Day (Pacific Standard Time). You'll need to provide me with your email address (or, if you plan on gifting it to someone else, their email address) so I can give you the link to the book, and, of course, you'll need to have a Kindle or a Kindle app to read it. You can download it here for your smartphone, iPad, PC, or whatever. I use it on my phone, and it works great!

So that's the contest. I'm only running it for a short time (2 days), so get in early. One entry per person, but if you'd like to retweet it a number of times to spread the news, I'd be grateful! Good luck, Merry Christmas, and happy reading!

Ghost Betweens - Free For Kindle

Today through Halloween, I'm making the Kindle version of Ghost Betweens free. If you haven't had a chance to read it, now you can. Here's the link to Amazon for it. Don't forget, if you don't have a Kindle, it's quite easy to get a Kindle app for your smart phone, iPod Touch, iPad, and even your laptop and desktop. (Easiest way is to run a search for "Kindle Reader" in your favorite app store.) Go download it for yourself and for your teen! And when you finish reading it, I'd appreciate it if you took a few minutes to give it a review on Amazon, Goodreads, and/or anywhere else you can leave book reviews. Thanks!

Don't forget I'm also running a contest to give away a free paperback copy of Ghost Betweens. You can find the info here. So you can have one copy for your Kindle (or Kindle app), and one for your bookshelf. Sweet deal! I hope you enjoy the book!

Free copy of Ghost Betweens

Since it's the month of October, or as I like to call it, the month of Halloween, I've decided I should run another contest for a free book. This time it's a paperback copy of my Young Adult Paranormal Adventure, Ghost Betweens. This contest will start up right now, and I'll hold a drawing on November 1st for a winner. 

There are two ways to enter. First, leave a comment on this blog post. Do make sure that I can get in touch with you if you win, of course; if I click on your name in the comment, I should be able to find your blog, twitter handle, email, or something. I don't have Facebook (that may change soon, but not yet - more on that at a later date), so don't rely on that. Second, follow me on Twitter (@ericjkrause) and retweet any tweets related to this contest. They'll be easy to spot, as most will have those instructions right in them. I'll only enter you in the contest once, but if you'd like to retweet more than once, I'll send you thank you tweets for getting the word out!

As soon as this posts, consider the contest open. I'll send out the first tweet very soon, and then two or three times a day until Halloween. The contest officially ends on Midnight on Halloween, though unofficially I'll still enter you on the morning of November 1st when I wake up and check Twitter and this blog post. Good luck!

Oh, and I should mention that I'll also be making the Kindle e-book free during the last five days of October (Oct. 27-31). That way, if you don't win, you can still read the book. And if you do win, you'll have both a paperback copy and an e-book copy. I'll, of course, remind everyone about the free Kindle book when the time draws nearer.

Next Contest

Okay, folks, I'm here to announce my next book giveaway. I'll be gifting a Kindle copy of my young adult contemporary fantasy novel, Dragon Guard, to one lucky person on Friday, August 2nd. That's my birthday, so I figured I'd be the one giving a gift this year. All you have to do to enter the drawing is comment in this blog post or follow me on Twitter: @ericjkrause and retweet the appropriate tweets. (You won't be able to miss them - I'll post the entry tweets two or three times a day until Friday the 2nd.)

That's all there is to it! I'll close the entries when I when I wake up on Friday morning, and I'll conduct the drawing. I've never given a gift on Amazon, but I figure it can't be too hard, right? I believe all I need is your email address, so I'll contact the winner on Friday to get which email address you want me to send it to. Then all the winner has to do is download and enjoy the book!

If you don't have a Kindle, you can still enter. Simply use the free Kindle app. You can get it on your smartphone, tablet, and even your desktop, laptop, or whatever! (Find it on Google Play, the iPhone app store, on Amazon, or Google it if you still can't find it.) So enter this contest so you can win and read my book! Of course, I'm hoping you read it and write a review for me on Amazon. I'm hoping you also tell your friends (real life ones and social media ones) if you enjoy it! If you win, it's not necessary, but I'd sure appreciate it!

So, that's it. Simply comment on this blog post or retweet the appropriate tweets, and you're entered in the drawing. Good luck!

Upcoming Giveaway: Which Book Would You Like?

Next Wednesday (July 24) I'll announce my next book giveaway. I'm going to give one lucky winner of a random drawing either a paperback copy of my YA Paranormal Adventure, Ghost Betweens, or I'll gift someone a Kindle copy of my newest book, Dragon Guard. 

My question to you, my fine online friends, is which would you prefer this time around? Basically, I'm taking requests. You can vote here on the blog in the comment section or by telling me on Twitter: @ericjkrause (throw me a mention with which one you'd like).

Again, your choices are: A paperback copy of Ghost Betweens or a Kindle e-book of Dragon Guard (which I will send to you using the gift option on Amazon). If your choice doesn't win, don't despair; I'll give the other one away at a later date. So get voting, either in the comments below or on Twitter (you can throw me a mention or send a direct message, whichever you prefer). Next Wednesday, I'll open up the contest with which one I'm giving away. See you then!

Book Giveaways

After a week of buildup, I had a giveaway last week for my Young Adult Science Fiction Baseball Adventure novel (there's a mouthful!), Way Over the Line. You can see the original write-up here. On Thursday I conducted a drawing and came up with a winner. That winner was Jeff Beesler. Congrats, Jeff! That book will be in the mail soon, I promise (tomorrow morning if all goes well). 

I wasn't sure what to expect when I announced the contest. I figured I might get two or three people, or I could get dozens. It ended up being somewhere in the middle, which I was pleased with. I'll have more contests in the future, and I'm hoping to build on the success of this one. And I am calling it a success. It wasn't just two or three people who retweeted the contest link, but a bit more than that. Maybe some people who saw those links didn't try it this time, but might be more interested next time. Anytime I get a retweet, I view it as a win.

And speaking of book giveaways, I'm planning on having my next contest on August 2nd, my birthday. Why not give away a free book that day, eh? I'm trying to decide if I want to give away a paperback copy of my Young Adult Paranormal Adventure, Ghost Betweens (click here to see the Ghost Betweens hub right here on my blog for more info on that book), or if I want to gift someone a Kindle copy of my newest book, Dragon Guard (click here to see the Dragon Guard hub right here on my blog for more info on that book). I'll likely start the contest on Wednesday, July 24, giving a little over a week for everyone to enter. I'll write another post kicking it off, and I'll, of course, tell you what book is up for grabs then. In fact, if you have an opinion on which one you'd like to see me give away, feel free to say so in the comments. 

Looking at my bookshelf, I have two copies of Way Over the Line left, and two copies of Ghost Betweens. I plan on buying a couple of copies of Dragon Guard soon (my freebie copies from my publisher have long since gone) to give away, too. I'm also up for gifting Kindle copies of all three books. So I have plenty of giveaway opportunities for the future. I don't know if I'll do it every month, but I will hold regular-ish giveaways. I've sent the follow up to Dragon Guard to my publisher, and I guarantee I'll have a giveaway or two with that one when it comes out (haven't even started first edits, so a release date is not even on the horizon yet - I'll keep you posted). That will be book two of the trilogy, and I'm currently hard at work on the first draft of book 3. So, what I'm saying is, if you didn't win this time, keep trying! You'll have plenty of opportunity!  

Upcoming Book Giveaway

I recently realized I have a few paperback copies of two of my books, Way Over the Line and Ghost Betweens, sitting on my bookshelf. They're not doing any good there, so I've decided I'm going to have some giveaways in the coming months. The first one is going to happen next Thursday, July 4th. It's a big holiday here in the United States, but this giveaway is open to everyone around the globe. Obviously I hope the winner (and winners of future giveaways) will read the book and put a review up on Amazon, but that's not mandatory. I simply want to get my books out to new people.

Let's get to the meat of this first giveaway, shall we? Since, as I said, it's the Fourth of July (or Independence Day, if you prefer), and baseball is still considered America's pastime, I decided I'll give away a copy of Way Over the Line, a young adult (specifically targeted at 'tweens, though it's good for all ages) science fiction story about aliens and baseball. To enter to win your very own paperback copy, simply leave a comment below on this blog post (saying whatever you want - even if you just say "Enter me in the drawing," that's good enough for me), one on this Facebook post, or follow me on Twitter and retweet the appropriate tweet when I call for it (I'll specifically say to RT to win in that tweet).

I'll conduct my random drawing next Thursday, July 4, and alert the lucky winner soon after. I can sign it for you, too, if you'd like; we can discuss that when I get the address of wherever you'd like me to send it. Good luck, and tell your friends! 

Free, free, free!

As you can tell from the title of this post, the topic today is free books. Two things have triggered this. First, I gave away two .pdf copies of my newest book, Dragon Guard, away on Twitter this week. I'll talk more about that in a minute. Second, I'm giving away my self-published novel, Ghost Betweens, for free on Amazon for the Kindle for the next five days. My reasons for doing this are more than simply I have five promotional days left for this selling period. I'll get to that after I talk about Dragon Guard.

As I said, I ran a contest to give away two free .pdf copies of my newest novel, Dragon Guard, which is a Young Adult Contemporary Fantasy story. I did this spur of the moment, so I didn't know what sort of response I would get. Turns out, not much but more than I expected. Let me explain. I received my .pdf file of the novel from my publisher, Hunt Press, late last week. I decided to give away two copies of it to anyone who retweeted a post I made. I didn't make a blog post or anything else; I simply did this on Twitter. Plus I only ran the contest over the weekend. Turns out, this didn't work out so well for my normal followers. I believe I had three people retweet it, and I gave plenty of chances for people to do so. That was a bit disheartening. But, as I said, I also got a much bigger response than I'd hoped. One of my tweets ended with two simple words: Free Book! I didn't hashtag it (for those of you on Twitter, you know this is how you get non-followers to see your posts), but I still got the post picked up by a number (about 30) of people who were, judging from their Twitter descriptions, big compers - people who love to enter contests for free stuff. I don't know if one picked up on this and it spread through their ranks or if it was on a contest list somewhere, but I had a bunch of people retweet to enter the contest that way. That was awesome for me! After all, they're potential new fans if they enjoy the story, right?

Anyway, I'm happy with how it turned out. Two people got a .pdf copy of my book, and I'm hoping they'll really enjoy it. If I hadn't put those two magical words ("Free Book!") in one of my tweets, I would have had a lousy turnout for my contest. But that is mostly my fault. I did simply run it as a spur-of-the-moment thing, and I didn't publicize it very well. In the future, I'm sure I'll have another such contest, but this time I'll give some heads-up to create some buzz for it. I'll post it on my blog and other sites. I'll keep it going for a full week so I get both weekend and weekday tweeters. This knowledge is probably the best thing that came out of this experience for me. (Though I hope the book is read, possibly reviewed on Amazon or anywhere else, and talked about by those who won. That would be an even bigger win for me!)

My second point in this post is my releasing of my self-published book, Ghost Betweens, a Young Adult Paranormal Adventure, free for then next five days (starting Thursday and running through Monday). The reason I'm doing this is because of Dragon Guard. I'm hoping people will download Ghost Betweens, enjoy it, and decide they'd like to give Dragon Guard a read. I'm confident readers just need a reason to pick up Dragon Guard, and when they do, they'll enjoy the heck out of it. I'm also hoping people will review Ghost Betweens on Amazon. I have 6 reviews right now (3 5-stars and 3 4-stars), and I'd love more. More reviews not only mean future sales for Ghost Betweens, but I'm hoping it rubs off on Dragon Guard, too.

So, if you have a Kindle, please download Ghost Betweens these next five days. Read it, review it, and pass the word on. If you don't have a Kindle, get yourself a Kindle App. It's free, and you won't miss out on great free promotions like this one. I hope you enjoy Ghost Betweens, and I hope it's a gateway drug to Dragon Guard!

Kindle Link to Ghost Betweens (Free Thursday April 11 - Monday April 15)
Kindle Link to Dragon Guard (Not free, but about the same price as a large value meal at a fast food joint, and much healthier for you!)

Keyword Tags and Reviews on Amazon

Today I want to ask for a favor. But don't worry, if you do me a favor, I will return in kind. I'd like some help in marketing my Young Adult Paranormal novel, Ghost Betweens. If you could click on the title, it'll take you to the appropriate page on Amazon. If you scroll down below the reviews, you'll see a section called "Tags Customers Associate with This Product." Here's where the favor comes in. Even if you haven't read it, can you check the boxes next to the tags? And if you have read it, and if you think there are some other tags that apply, feel free to create those new ones. All of this will help customers find my book.

Another way to help me sell the book is by posting a review for it. If you've read the book, I'd be delighted if you left a review on my Ghost Betweens site on Amazon. Even if it's just two or three lines, that's quite helpful. Please leave an honest review (though, of course, I'm hoping it will be positive!). And if you don't have a copy of the book yet, I'll be releasing it for free for the Kindle starting tomorrow, June 28, until Saturday, June 30. Download a copy, give it a read, and give me a review! If you don't have a Kindle, you can turn most any device into one with a free Kindle Reader App.

At the beginning of this post, I did promise I would return the favor. If you check the tags on Ghost Betweens, in the comment section below, leave me a link to your book on Amazon, and I will gladly check the tags for you. This way, we both get that little bit extra help in marketing our books. Remember, readers like to use keywords when searching for something to read on Amazon, so this will help. And if you pick up a free copy of Ghost Betweens and leave an honest review, I will gladly read your book and leave a review. Remember, positive reviews help sell books, and I'm confident enough in my story that if you enjoy YA Paranormal books, I think you'll get a kick out of Ghost Betweens.

If you do leave a review for me on Amazon, please let me know in the comments below, message me in Twitter (@ericjkrause), or find me on Facebook (The Fictional World of Eric J. Krause). Give me the link to your book on Amazon, and when you plan on promoting it for free so I can download a copy. I'll put your book at the top of my "to-read" list and I'll leave a review for you on Amazon. All sound good? You scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours. We Indie Authors need to stick together, right?

Free Download of Ghost Betweens

Today and tomorrow (Monday, May 14 and Tuesday, May 15), you can get the Kindle edition of Ghost Betweens free at Amazon. Click here to go to the page. I'd be thrilled if you not only read it, but also hopped back over to that page when you finished to write a review on Amazon.

Ghost Betweens is for ages 14+ in my opinion. It's just as much for adults as high school students, so don't let the YA tag fool you if you don't have teens in your life. Give it a read!

And you can always still get the paperback if you enjoy it and want to share the book with someone who doesn't have a Kindle. Click here for the paperback edition.

Of course not everyone has a Kindle, but you can get a Kindle Reader app for your Apple product, smartphone, and/or your computer. Click here to go to that page. I've used the app for my iPod Touch, and it works great! So you have plenty of opportunity to read my Young Adult Paranormal Adventure/Romance, Ghost Betweens. Give it a shot! (And if you like it, make sure you tell your friends!)

Free ebooks: March 6-12

Smashwords is running a promotion for Ebook Week, and I decided to make all of my books free for it. If you haven't yet had a chance to check out my three books, now is your chance!

Way Over the Line: Eighth-grader Jessie Campbell loves baseball, but he's terrified of the ball. When he and his best friend, Ryder, are abducted by space aliens to play in the huge intergalactic baseball tournament, Jessie will need to deal with horrors such as space pirates, and, even worse, actually participating on the field. And if all of that wasn't enough pressure, Jessie may also be the fabled chosen one.

The Breath of Life and Other Stories: Twenty tales of horror, science fiction, and fantasy make up this collection of short fiction. The stories range from tales of Atlantis, video games that are a bit too real, what happens right after death, battles with vicious dragons, and much, much more.

The Friday Flash Stories of Eric J. Krause: Volume 1 (Ok, so this one is always free, but if you haven't downloaded it, why not do so this week?) : Fifty flash fiction stories. These are tales of horror, fantasy, and science fiction, as well as some bent more towards the mainstream.

Give one or all of them a shot! You can't beat the price this week. If you enjoy them, I'd love a review. Thanks! Enjoy your reading!

Free ecopies of Way Over the Line

I'd like to give out free e-copies to my middle grade novel called Way Over the Line. I'm doing this by giving out a code from Smashwords that will get you the book for free. Here's a description:

"Jessie Campbell loves baseball, but he's terrified of the ball. Though he can make great running catches, if a ball is hit right at him, he'll duck out of the way. And forget about batting. When he and his best friend, Ryder Gonzalez, are abducted by space aliens, the boys learn that the aliens want Ryder to play in the huge Intergalactic Over the Line Tournament. Jessie is only along for the ride. He soon learns, however, that this won't be a simple spectator sport. He'll need to deal with horrors such as space pirates, and, even worse, actually participating on the field. With the help of Ryder, his alien teammates, a cute girl from another planet, and even Mickey Martell, the best baseball player in the Universe, Jessie must learn to push away his fears and focus on learning how to better play the game--both mentally and physically.

And if all of that wasn't enough pressure, there's also whisperings that he may be the fabled Chosen One, destined to bring the championship to his team."

This is a book aimed at 10 to 13 year olds who are baseball and/or science fiction fans, though I think it's a story that can make anyone happy who reads it. And who can beat for free, right? To get your code, you don't have to agree to do anything but send me a direct message on Twitter. You can find a link to me on Twitter here. That's it, though I do have some requests.

If you enjoy the book, or if you think you know others who would enjoy it, please give them the link either on Smashwords or Amazon (both links are at the top right of my webpage, and I will put them at the bottom of this post). If you know teachers who teach upper elementary school or middle school/junior high, I'd love for you to share the links with them. If you know parents with age-appropriate kids, I'd love for you to give them the links. If you know others who simply enjoy a good story, I'd love for you to give them the links. The book is only $1.99 on both Smashwords and Amazon, so it won't cost much at all for those you recommend to. I'd appreciate it if you didn't hand out the code to anyone else, but honestly, there's nothing I can do to stop you from doing so. I only earnestly ask that you don't publish the code anywhere in a public forum.

That's all I request: if you enjoyed it, let others know. I don't even require it from you, just request. You don't need to retweet my links, you don't need to say anything about it. Just send me a direct message on Twitter and you get a code for a free book. I'd love a review on Goodreads, at Amazon, at Smashwords, but again, none of that is necessary for you to get your free code. It's just me humbly asking for some publicity for my story.

So, to recap, simply send me a direct message on Twitter and I'll send you a code for a free copy of Way Over the Line. That's it. No hidden catches. I just hope you enjoy the book and tell others that you enjoyed it. Thanks everyone!

In case you've never used Smashwords, I believe you have to sign up for an account to get the free book, but that account is free and should only take you a minute or two to sign up for. I also believe you don't need to enter any credit card number if you put in the free code.

Click here to find Way Over the Line on Smashwords

Click here to find Way Over the Line on Amazon for the Kindle