Last Post of 2019

Today is the last do to get anything done before the "year of perfect vision" comes. Which means this is Shiver and Fears last blog of the year. So let's see what we're planning for 2020:

1. Shiver and Fears on facebook will be announcing Fan of the Month this year
2.  first 5 Facebook friends will receive the birthday song and a free audiobook code
3. The annual Bookaversary party will be on this year
4. Shiver and Fears: No Body Park will have an audiobook and kindle published
5. OKC MLK parade will be including Shiver and Fears
6. Our goal is to sell 50 more audiobooks
7. Creeps will be making appearances on sites
8. Magical Times will start book 5 (book 4 will be published)
9. Shiver and Fears: The Burning Ghost is pending for publishing next
10. Shiver and Fears has a brand message

So look forward to a lot in 2020.

 So earlier this month I set an audition for the new audiobook, and within a few days, an artist name Diotae was ready to publish an audiobook. Now I've worked with a few narrators before. Some took months to finish a book. There are a few who STILL haven't finished a Shiver and Fears book. Diontae was the first audition to finish his work within a week! Here I am thinking the book wouldn't be ready until February, but a day before the new year celebration and it's already pending for publishing. 

It's a sure thing that Diontae will be reading more of my audiobooks. Meanwhile, my illustrator, Randon is slow in progress but is still drawing for Shiver and Fears and Magical Times. Right now he is working on a project of the side drawing action shots of Creeps, Shiver and Fears mascot.

Why does Shiver and Fear have a mascot? Because just like Lucky Charms or Cheerios or even Energized Batteries they all include an icon. Shiver and Fears should have an icon, there's already a logo and a branding message. And it seems to be working, But for those of you who don't know: 

 Meet Creeps!

Happy New Year!

Christmas ADVENTURE

 Merry Christmas!!

I spent the last week and day (8 days people) on a boat traveling the Atlantic Ocean to 2 virgin islands and Nassau in the Bahamas. You won't believe what I've seen in these places. 

 multiple trees dedicated to famous Christmas movies (I don't know this one, but-

 this one represents The Grinch

 This one was for Home Alone

We also walked around and found some unique animals. It's funny how they don't really fear people as much as they do here is the United States.Can you find the Igina in this photo? I know it's hard to see, but it is there... It's pretty big too.

 

 

 I even saw the Grinch, I didn't think the famous Grinch would be added only because do you want your presents stolen by a green creature?

 There were tons of gift shops with dozens of things to buy. I bought a few, but even though I agreed to myself I'd only get a few things there were still a dozen more things I wanted to get as well.

I even made a few friends. If they are reading this I just want to state I saw you guys on the other side of the street and tried to call you, but because I was with a group (and we were in a hurry) I couldn't chat with you guys. Plus I didn't think we'd see each other again, I mean it's a huge boat!! BTW: Rarely do I win at board games! Honestly!!!

I bought this shirt, i bet you don't know where. J/K When I saw it, it wasn't very interesting, so I decided to take it home and splash some color into it. I 'll be posting a video on YouTube with a thousand more pictures. Got the idea from a young youtuber himself explaining how he videos his cruises, so I decided it'll help get rid of the thousand photos, but still keep the memories.

You'll find a lot of interesting people on cruise boats, that is if you look for them. Otherwise you'll spend it with your group and chances are you'll miss out on some interesting games and activities. Not that I truly did. I mean I watch a musical about King Henry VIII six wives. They were the hottest girls on stage. I had to send them a letter, hope they got it. If any of those six girls are reading this blog, just know I fell head over heels for all six of you. XOX 😍😍😍😍😍😍 

I did wonder was this musical like a thing, like High School Musical, or Swan Lake, or was it like a play put together for cruise boats... hmmmm, I'll have to look into that. Either way those girls could never be out beat. They WERE the 6 wives.

Well hope your Christmas or Hanukkah, or Kwanza, or whatever holiday you're into just remember. You don't want to invite this guy:  

 

Christmas travels

At this moment now, I'm off traveling. All my duties are done: tennis practices, school teachings, and church actions. I'll be traveling out of state and going on another adventure like you wouldn't believe. Where am I going? You'll have to wait this Christmas.
The only down side to this winter adventure is that Shiver and Fears will be on vacation as well...

You know, as in "closed for the holidays"

 Shiver and Fear is going off the.. Well, let me say it like this. There will be no contests, no socal posts, nothing until after Christmas!

It's time to take a break, Christmas is one busy holiday month and I've done as much as I've possibly could before taking a trip.
Now have you tried those codes from the last blog? They are for a free audiobook. That's what we're giving away this year for Scary Creepsmas to All this year. If none of the codes work go to Shiverandfears.com and try a code there.
Scary Creepsmas, I'm out!

Creepsmas gifts!

Scary Creepsmas to all and to all a good Fright!!! What is that not a thing? Well, it's a thing for us, Shiver and Fears enjoys Creepsmas the same way a person enjoys Christmas. Just now we mailed 10 Creepsmas cards to our fans and included on that card is a keychain and free audiobook. It's part of our Creepsmas tradition.

!

Every year we give a Shiver and Fears gift to our fans. This year we're giving audiobooks. Here how it'll work this year.
Listed below are a dozen codes we are giving the first 12 fans for an audiobook of "Sibling Subtraction" Now you can only use one code, so whichever code you use that's the only one. Now since this is the season of giving, we'll offer you a chance to get another Shiver and Fears audiobook. All you need to do is comment "Scary Creepsmas!" and we'll send you back a code for another audiobook (we won't tell you which one though)
I do want to warn you also, the codes provided/given are not like gift cards. If you do not claim your audiobook by January we have the right to give it to someone else. Sorry, but understand, would you want to give someone a gift they never plan on using and let them keep it? We hope you enjoy your gift, now click here> Creepsmas gift
now pick a code:

 and remember, Scary Creepsmas!

The winner of "What's Your Story?"

   So if you haven't heard, hear it now. Shiver and Fears had started another contest! A title will be created by your first and last name and then naming a random street. The winning title is The Burning Ghost.
   Now you might be thinking if maybe I predicted this book would win and already had an idea, you'd be wrong, I was voting for The Masked Baby or even The Burning Baby. Now don't give me that 'you evil monster!', because you can't really judge a book by its title. And there were some that if were chosen, would be difficult to put together like, "The Cold Eye" or "The Floating Channel" and truth be told I really didn't want to do another ghost story, but it is what it is.
So what is The Burning Ghost about? (Like you wouldn't guess.) Well, I don't want it to be about a ghost that's on fire, that's WAY too obvious! So check out what I have here:

   Only the toughest of the tough can be entered The Night Club. It's located deep in a swamp on 21st Blvd. Ethan and his friends meet there every night to think of plans to scare the rest of the town. But things don't go as planned one night as they find their club burned down. Who could have done this? Ethan's annoying brother? A lightning strike? Or could it be the burning ghost?

   This story will be placed in the winter to give the story more suspense. Now the kid starring in the story will be the only realistic thing about this story. The other characters, his location, and his personal (although not too much) will be different. My partner, Randon Timberlake, will be the illustration of this masterpiece. You ready for another Shiver and Fears story? Hear more about it in 2020! 

Contest in November!

What kind of story would Shiver and Fears put you in? Would there be ghosts? Aliens? Maybe something unique like a haunted star or a masked baby! Whatever your story is, we want to know. Send us a comment or email of your story title, if it’s good enough, you could star in a book that will be sent to Barnes and Noble's to be shelved in the store. Just remember these rules:

·      Street name doesn’t HAVE to be where YOU live, it could be imaginary, a familiar area, or made up.

·      Story isn’t guaranteed to be shelved  but will be sent to Barnes and Nobles stores when published

·      Don’t doubt your title, Shiver and Fears can make a scary story out of any title. Ex: The Watery Hand of Penn St.

·      No titles will be accepted after the due date of Nov 19. Titles can be entered any time before then.

·      Do Not enter other people into the competition, we want YOUR story. If the story title doesn’t match the entries name, the title will NO be included.

·      Any questions can be answered through email of shiverandfears@gmail.com

So tell us, What's your story title?⬇

Halloween Giveaway 100th Blog!

Shiver and Fears is giving away audiobooks, There are two ways to get yours:
1 go to Shiverandfears.com/news and click on 1 of 3 codes, type it in and the audiobook is yours.
or
2 go to social media (facebook) or (Instagram) and reply "Halloween"

As you can see fans are calling in for their prize, so you might want to be quick. Don't have a facebook? No Instagram? Comment "HALLOWEEN" to this blog and we'll send you a code like this: > 3ESP8KJZDPG2N and a link to type it in, and just like that, you have yourself a Shiver and Fears audiobook. But I would suggest you be quick, for 2 reasons: 1 because there's only a limit of codes to give away, and 2 because this giveaway is only lasting for a few more days.
You better be quick!

Happy Birthday AJ

Wonder where this author spent his birthday this year? He spent it at the one place he's always wanted to go, and never could! 

Every year the state fair happens on the week of my birthday, butas always happening a week after my birthday. And even though it's stillpecialtrip, it's not special enough going ON the day you were born. This year was different.

I took a few of my old friends, who brought friends of their own,togetherwe made this trip a party! Now what did we do there? Well one thing is for sure, we had to check out all these random foods. I mean they had fried gummy bears, who wouldn't want to try that?

We were checking out a few rides. We for sure had to go on the ferris wheel. I even got to see the Disney on Ice show., but being there I learned how they are able to keep everything in order, I mean 12.99 for a soda?! They are also selling cars and hottubs.

As an author there were a few fans who loved seeing me there. Hope they enjoy their picture. Meanwhile it's good to have a birthday celebration on your birthday, it just makes it more special!

Get Monsterfied

Sending out a message to everyone about this October

Yes we're back at it againShiver and Fears is bringing back your monster pictures, but this year we're making it a contest. Because this year we have these: Now you might be thinking Oh wow, a picture frame!😴 But it's not just the picture frame, it come with your monsterfied picture! Don't want to send a picture of yourself? No problem! We accept ANY face picture. Send a picture of your sister, aunt, some random neighbor, or even a picture you googled, you're favorite tv star, singer, athlete, or even a cartoon character! We accept any photo you send to shiverandfears@gmail.com

Now here's what happens: That photo will be placed on youtube (october 31), facebook.com(Shiver and Fears page and Read It-group), and instagram find it under #getmonsterfied. Oh, and of course the Shiver and Fears website! > Shiverandfears.com (under NEWS > GET MONSTERFIED) The site will also include a poll for you to vote.

Right now we're working on schools allowing students to enter. 🤞Hoping it all goes well. Want to enter now? Go ahead, but I promise you, you won't get a picture back until September12. But if you do enter, I hope you win!

Trick or Treat Give-a-way

This October Shiver and Fears is doing something special. I like to call it the Trick or Treat Give-a-way. Now I understand I'm completely ahead of the game because October isn't next month it's a month afterwards. But this gives fans like you a chance to view the website shiverandfears.com. Now if you've visited before you might think there is nothing different, but you're wrong. before the website was titled asia17hardwin.wix.com/shiverandfears < wow that's a mouth-full! Now it's just simple.Not only that, but there are a few added features included as well.
It's important that you know about this now, because this is where you will find the give-a-way. Before you could find the give-a-ways on facebook, instagram, twitter, but what about those people who want to enter these give-a-ways, but can't access without an account? Problem solved. You don't need an account to explore Shiver and Fears website. If you've been to the website then you know about the fan art page, the games, the news feed. If you know Shiver and Fears like everyone else then you know about the Monsterfied Contest.That's for another day. Stay tuned, because you're going to want to hear about how to get monsterfied!
(meanwhile: go to shiverandfears.com)

AJ Hard-The Song Artist

Years ago Shiver and Fears was a book series that very little knew of. 7 years later, multiple readers from multiple states of the U.S. own a copy of a Shiver and Fears book. If a reader like yourself doesn't own one, or even if you don't know a reader with a Shiver and Fears book then that's on you! 

But this blog is about more than books, this blog is about music. That's right, music. As you might know, I preformed 'Someday' in front of a crowd in Golden, Missouri. A few weeks later that song received over 100 views on youtube, but it didn't stop there.

At this moment now, you can not only listen to 'Someday' at Youtube, but also purchase it at  amazon music as well  a few other songs written by me as well. Songs such as 'Gilded Cage', 'Good-Bye', and 'Friendship to Break' are included.

These songs, just like the books, are placed in many sites. Spotify, a downloadable site used for making playlists, have the 6 songs too. 6? You might be saying, "I'm only counting 4." Well 1 is a Christmas original called 'Who is Mrs. Claus' and the other is a karaoke of 'Someday'.

Now let's rewind, I said you may not know about Shiver and Fears, or even know someone who reads Shiver and Fears. That's your fault, and here's why. You've been reading about all the work I put into my books and my songs, but have you put any effort into sharing with your friends, family, co-workers, or neighbors? My thoughts are no.

What about you? If you really want to know more about Shiver and Fears books and any songs I've written all you have to do is ask... I'm waiting!

#1 HIT

Last week I spent my time at camp in Golden, Missouri at K.A.A. Now I start my blog with this story because I wasn't just a known author there. I was a known music artist. I had been going to this christian sports camp for around 9-15 years (still trying to calculate) and for the last 3 years, including this one, I had been what is called a Kaleo. I think of a Kaleo as a second hand counselor, the main difference is that Kaleos are more on vacation there than counselors.
Now understand, I became an author at 18 so I was a starting-off celebrity when I was a camper. But after 7 years I was starting to become a hit, not just in books, but in music too. You see Kaleos meet every few hours a day and always enjoy each other with a talent show. Now, my first year I wanted to join, but didn't have a talent prepared, so I tried an anecdote of one of my books. Funny thing was it became a hit! Other Kaleos today are asking, "Where's Heather?" (Something Strange About Greg) It was a real hoot when Heather came with us the year afterwards.
But this year was the year! I was planning on singing a song based on my new book Magical Times, but I was unable to finish it. I instead went with my catchy song (Someday) to sing from the inspiration of the kids. (The reason all my work is focused on them.) After I sung that song, it traveled. It started from the mouths of Kaleos, then it traveled to their phones on youtube, that song when from the Kaleo building to the cabins of 3 sections of the camp, next thing I know it went from the Kaleos to the campers of K3... or was it HG?

From what I heard it even traveled farther! It was to travel to the homes of different sections of the United States. With all this traveling of my song it made me realize how much support, love, and friends you can find at this camp. Not just for Camper to Kaleo people like me, but the everyone. There are a lot of stars at that camp that I know. Queen Comedians, Poets, Singers, Creative Actors, and Off-the-back Jokers. I'm always ready for another week at K.A.A, U Know!!!

trust fall

man overboard!

3 days of fog!

World-Wide Books

First of all I want to say, if you live in Oklahoma you know this weather is totally crazy. Rain, wind, and sunshine. Over... and over... and over again.
Now that we've settled that let's talk about books:

First of all, let me say that my next book is the Shiver and Fears series is called The Puppet Family. About a boy meeting two new friends and meanwhile getting involved in a kidnapping. Right now the book is on hold due to the book illustrator, Randon Timberlake. The cover should be ready in just a few more days. Once it's drawn, I'll be coloring it. So it should be ready by next week.
Next, I want to say The AJ Hard collection (Shiver and Fears) and (Magical Times) have been posted on book stores all around the world in audio and in paperback. So what's next on my agenda? It's time I pass around the word that Shiver and Fears deserve the attention from it's audience. This summer I'll be going to Missouri for the annual camp of KAA. There might be a few kids there who would love to meet an author.
Another thing is I'm thinking of is to do a live video of chatting with pedestrians at The Village Library about checking out Shiver and Fears. Kinda give it like a  "Secret celebrity" vibe. I also want to do a contest on Instagram, but I have a feeling it might fail, but never not try something just because you doubt it.

  https://www.gofundme.com/help-shiver-and-fears&rcid=r01-155882853613-b211887525764f7b&pc=ot_co_campmgmt_w < here is the funding for Shiver and Fears. This funding will help promote The AJ Hard collection to as many readers as possible. Check it out. And don't be afraid to check out the many sites f Shiver and Fears

New illustration

This is the cover of Shiver and Fears 7th book: The Secret Saturda. Back when I published this story, I struggled w ith the cover. Without giving much aaway, Secret Saturday was about a boy who meets a kid who lives in extraordinary neighborhood. The boy, Denver's, new friend, Trey, is keeping a secret. Every Saturday he spends the night over at Denver's house and keeps look out.

Well anyway, if your looking at the cover and thinking it needs some work, you're right. 2 weeks ago I chatted with a young artist, Randon Timberlake, and he's agreed to do the illustration for the books. Here is our book now:

I did the coloring, but the drawing came from my partner. If you read this book, you might notice some flaws in the writing. Well, the first few books I've written, I wasn't too focused on paragraphs. But after a few years, it grew on me. I'll get work on that later, right now I'm trying to finish A Puppet Family. At this moment right now I have 4 chapters to finished, send it to y editing partner, Cody, and then Randon will draw the cover. Want to know what his creative side is like? I do too. You'll see in Shiver and Fears 27th series.

Contest Rules on Social Media

So here's what happening this week. I'm setting up a give-a-way and hoping this will get Shiver and Fears more attention. This is different than what I've ever done before. Some of you might know about the amazon give-a-way I hosted on Amazon.com. It was good, but not as good as I wanted. Long story short, here's my contest:
As some of you might know after 8 years Shiver and Fears is having it's anniversary, it's bookaversary! So since there is no party this year we're doing something different. We'll be at the Village Library doing a live feed talking with young readers and others about Shiver and Fears and hopfully we can get your attention too on facebook. (let's see how that turns out.)
Sorry, lets stay on track here and talk about this give-a-way. It's time Shiver and Fears gets some attention. Now, on instagram there's a ton of likes, on twitter it get's passed to a few people, on a good day, and facebook... it's a little quiet... Let's change that! I will give a fan a prize if they can gain 25 points in a week on Twitter or Instagram:
Like a post= 5 points
Leave a comment 10 words= 10 points
Comment an answer= 12 points (I'll post a puzzle)
Follow #shiverandfears= 15 points (instagram)
Comment 10+ words = 20 points
Post with #shiverandfears = 25 points

Now question is, who is going to get those 25 points? What post of mine will you put a heart on, or will you leave a comment? Think you can solve a rebus puzzle? Or follow #shiverandfears on instagram. You know you get more points if your comment has more than 10 words, right? But why struggle collecting points when posting with #shiverandfears gets you all the points at once!

Word from Cory

People are starting to really get into Shiver and Fears a lot more this year. Fans are growing on Twitter, and people around the world are fascinated with Shiver and Fears and the thousand videos and pictures posted. There was one fan that wowed me the most.
I was at work, coaching the tennis team, when I had received a message on my phone. From who you may ask? Cory! Now some are reading this blog and thinking "Oh cool, a fan named Cory gave you a message. But, what if I told you this was no ordinary Cory. This was Cory Baxter, also known as Kyle Massey! This is what he had to say:

 

For those of you who might now reconize this man, this is Cory Baxter from That's So Raven and Cory in the House! He's a real fan of Shiver and Fears, his favorite is Ghost of Future Me. I was so amazed getting this message I decided to add Cory Baxter to a Shiver and Fears book.I'm sure he'll like it, and I bet you will too!

P.S. What is your favorite Shiver and Fears book?

Author's giveaway

So I'm giving away a book... Not just any book, for the spirit of spring I'm giving away The Story Behind Easter. 3 to be exact. Enter the give-a-way and watch the video. If you are the 300th viewer you will win a book and have it delivered to your house. 
I posted a live video about it, and I must correct myself. You can only enter once. Which is a total bummer. I should have just had it where the first 3 win and be done with it. I wish Amazon had it be every 25th video. But this being my first give away I'm learning how this all works.
I'm actually thinking about hosting a give-away for Shiver and Fears 8th anniversary. Instead of having a party, that's right. I'm not hosting a party this year. Good thing too, because I'm sure you weren't planning on coming anyway. To host a fund raiser for all this equipment, setting it all up by myself, and to have it all ready for 1 person to show up is a waist of time and money.



Now let's chat about this giveaway. So apparently, 162 people have seen the give-a-way, but only 46 have entered. So this means by March 28th (the last day of the give-a-way) none of the  books will be given. It's a bummer that this isn't like those radio calls, where the person calls and recalls over and over again. With this give away I need 900 people to enter in this contest... and I only have 46.😡 So even if, you entered you only get one chance and chances are you won't get it... Not selling you to buy it huh? Well, take a chance anyway. I mean with... 48 entries now numbers are getting bigger. And who knows f you include your friends to enter, maybe one of you could win the first one. It's worth a try!

The Secret Behind Shiver and Fears

So what has gotten Shiver and Fears whre it is now? For future authors and writers, let me tell you now working by yourself is not the best idea. But how can I say that? I work by myself. Well, let me explain. I've spent years trying to find solutions to promote my work, truth is, I'm still not doing it right. But it could work for you.
For those who already have a story written you have a choice of createspace.com or Lulu.com. Now I'm sure there are other self publishing sites, but those are the two that sent my books at tons of book sites. If you need a cover idea you can always go to Fiverr.com and pay no less that $5 for art. After awhile you might want to chat with a few libraries and book stores and ask them to add your book to their collection. (After hounding them a lot, I got it going)
Don't stop at paperback, publish in kindle, audio, and hardback too. You want to publish in all sorts of forms to intreg all sorts of readers.acx.com is perfect for finding an audio reader and getting it published to a few sites as well.
Question is what do you do after all that? Well now you need to promote.If you're on a budget like me then you'll go to facebook.com and twitter.com any other sites that will grab people's attention. When you do this, the first people you want eyes on your book is your friends and family. (They always want you to have their support, and you always want to take it) Then the struggle is getting other people to find and gain interest. You can use a few dollars and promote on facebook, post videos on youtube.com or show off your work on any site where you customize your own. For Example:

make a meme

or a GIF

zazzle product

and there's more custom things you can make. So share those with friends and fans. But the most important thing you want to do is make business cards. Pass them out as often as possible. For me I make slow progress year after year. But I won't quit until I make it to the right level.