Young Author's Club part 2

 I forgot to mention the Young Author's club! Okay, okay, here's the drift:

As you already know, we are starting a club for young kids to become authors. This is a project we've worked on before. A few years ago, we picked students to write a story for us to publish.

The plan was to work with them one-on-one and get a story idea flowing. The problem is: the school we started to work with didn't schedule time for the kids to work with us.

Now, don't get me wrong, we were able to get something. And thisis just one of them, but this was supposed to be the start.

 Kids were supposed to start their own books, but because of the little time we had with them, we had to take what we had gotten and roll with it.

We were looking into creating children's books, getting some illustrations going. Before we knew it, school was nearly over, and testing became the only focus around the building.

So what's different now? Well, for one thing, we're not just reaching kids, we're talking with guardians too. These kids aren't difficult to talk with, because school isn't in the way.

If this club idea works, these kids will have their own books and Shiver and Fears will be a publishing team. 

Now, you might think, where's the money come in? WE AREN'T IN THIS FOR MONEY! We want kids to enjoy writing for others, just like any author you see in a library. Which will be part of the club's plan...

But it's more than just writing and publishing. It's about getting into contests and sharing hard work with others.

Maybe you know someone who wants to be a part of this club... Right now, we're not taking new members. We want to see where this leads before making it official. But hey, pray this goes well, so maybe you can join in too!

December News

Sometimes I sit and wonder what the focus of Creepsmas should be. I mean it's just an spoof of Christmas. I've always seen it as a chace to give presents to young "viewers" but how can they earn it? What's the point? How do I choose who gets a gift?

I think I've figured it out.

We are now the owners of The Scary Creepsmas Giveaway. This is only for #1 fans. And #1 fans are the fans who can read secret messages from Shiver and Fears. But how do we choose #1 fans?... THE DRAWING CONTEST! OF COURSE!! Anyone who enters the drawing contest, winner or loser can get a chance to be a number one fan. not quite sure how well this will go this year. I mean, we have done something like this before, but it didn't last long, we lost our fans after some time. What a bummer!

So what makes this different? Well, let me start off and say there were no secrets, but hardly anyone knew what Shiver and Fears had to offer. It was all about checking the websites, the social medias, the blogs.

No, no more. We inform about everything now. We don't depend on the internet to spread the word. We're starting small, but hopefully we can grow over time.

Now, what's going on now? The Scary Creepsmas Giveaway, and at this moment every number 1 fan has done their duty as a fan and spread the Christmas cheer to someone special. Now, here comes the best part. Because they've shared the gift of giving, they get a gift of their own. 

Now, as much as I would like to tell you what this gift is... I can't because just in case I have a number 1 fan reading this blog right now, I can't let them have the reveal win.

Now, what is coming after this Christmas? Well get this.. The Author Fest. Now the Author Feast will be in April, but to think. Registration starts now??? Wow! I always think there is a moment o peace with my work... but there never is.

Only a True Fan Can Get This

 So folks, most of you have been reading my blog for a while now, but question, how many of you are really fans of my work?

Well let put it to the test. Here below is a secret code that only fans can solve. Some people have given it a try and can't get it. Can you?

Edocs i htdevlo se vah uoyf itnemm ocae vael. 

There are two videos which teach you how to solve codes. You can find them on YouTube today. But just to see if you can become a #1 fan, I'll add instructions here:

1. Write the whole message in reverse order.

2. Space the words out the same way they are placed in the coded message.

3. Follow the instructions.

That easy, see? Now, if you want, you can write me a coded message back and I'll enlist you as a number one fan. What is so special about #1 fans? Well ... Only they get to know that!

Happy Hallows-week

Magical Times are Slow

 Everyone is waiting for the next Magical Times book to be published. WHAT?! You have no idea what I'm talking about? Magical Times, you know. The book series...

You never read one, have you? *sigh* I've written a total of 9 going on 10 Magical Times books and YOU NEVER HEARD OF IT? WHY???

Ok, I'm sure I've done this before, so I shouldn't do it again... but, here we go. *groan*

Magical Times is about my life in the future. But it's not about me, it's about my kids. Twin brothers, August and Chadly, and their little sister, Britt. This is an amazing series, because it's fiction, but with a small speck of truth. Now, even though this book is called Magical Times, it's not really focused on magic... It's about miracles! So, yes, this is a Christian book series.

You see, the three kids are training to use their special powers, a gift from Heaven, to learn to help other people. But there are some complications with the series, too. Ya see, the boys are neighbors with their dad's worst enemy from high school, and their sons are rivals as well. But August wants to learn why there's a feud between the two families, because his father... me, doesn't know what happened.

Meanwhile, his brother gets tied up in this mess when all he wants to do is learn how to control his own powers. The story gets a bit serious sometimes. However, it's all about teaching friendship, family, and Christian values.

Now, I shouldn't be doing this, because you should have been reading Magical Times since 2020. But here, Purchase here < click on that link and you get a copy of the book.

I'm only doing this because if you don't read these books, you're going to miss out on drama, action, and cliff hangers. Yep, this series is THAT good. So what are you waiting for? Buy a book now!

New Book published

So Shiver and Fears is still on vacation, but Magical Times is taking huge leaps! As of now all 9 books of the series can be located at Walmart, as well as Barnes and Noble and Amazon. So have we even talked about this book series? Maybe I need to make a Bio about it, well here's the gist of it all.

The book series is about my future life. I married my highschool sweetheart became a teacher and famous for the books i write. But the book isn't about all about me. It about my boys. I have 3 kids; twin boys and a daughter, they all have magical powers given to the m by angels.

Now there's a lot going on in this series. There's friendship, love, enemies, problem solving, magic, and Christian values. I'm not going to give it  all away, but there is some fun going on within the Hardwick family. Every character has a special part in the story.

And as my life continues, there more stories to tell. It's exciting to write this book. Mostly because it's like a timeline. This is my first time writing a story where everything is consistant.I don't know how some author's do it. Keeping the facts straight. Keeping knowledge of every character and every action. I mean it's already hard retacting facts in a cartoon. You know, like when a character makes a return after a while, or when a character goes through memory lane. Everything has to enline. Age, behavior, locations... EVERYTHING! Otherwise you get those readers who question everything: She had brown hair before, when did she turn blond? Or, I thought he was 10 years when he learned to ride a bike, how was that 6 years ago? 

I don't know, the point is there are some things you have to keep track of when writing a connected series. I do enjoy Magical Times, and hope others do too, but I do enjoy Shiver and Fears creative storyline. ANYTHING can happen that way!

 

Enid Library AuthorFest

Guess what? It's that time of year again! Enid Library has invited AJ Hard to their annual Author Fest. This year we will have a whole load of stuff! Books, pillows, cups, and stickers! Even Boo the ghost will make an appearance!

We will have a collection of 5 books, including:
Lost in the Forgotten Library
Attack of the Headless Robot
Sibling Subtraction
Magical Times
Haunting of the Halloween Kids
What other authors will be present at the event? I'm not sure, but I'll let you know as soon as I know myself. But I can tell you this, there will be dozens, which means there will be multiple genres for multiple ages. So don't feel like your too old or too young for this event. It will be located at Enid Library 120 W Maine Ave, Enid, OK 73701 to be exact!

 Hope you'll be there, or at least tell somebody who can. You'll enjoy and be upset when you miss it.

These Pens are worth $4

 Well fans it's happening! Shiver and Fears is still growing as we continue passing around the merch to our young fans. As of now Animated Eclectic and Elevated Growth have started to introduce Shiver and Fears perch and now we have another product to introduce.

Check out Shiver and Fears Light-up pens!

These pens work as a stylist and a pen, but I'm sure you'll be more interested in the lighting up part. There is a long story to go with what it took to make this process happen. You can catch the video of it all on Youtube.

Now, about the pens. Yes, they cost only $4 each. Now as a fan who loves to see Shiver and Fears grow into more than just books, then this product needs your attention! 

Instead of having such an amazing pen for yourself, you should share! Buy a pen and give it to someone special. Now don't be sitting there stating that this pen isn't worth $4 even if it does glow. Because here's the thing, the young ones will LOVE it. How often do kids come across a pen that lights up? 

Don't believe me? Well last year I sold Shiver and Fears color changing pencils. To this day, I still have kids/ fans asking for pencils. Sadly, I ran out the market for those pencils and went to pens. Now, these kids haven't seen these pens, BUT I've already shown a few people and they already want to buy a pen.

I suggest, you look into this. Email me or comment this blog post.

Sugar and Fears

 So here's a story: I spent my Saturday cooking 4 dozen batches of Sugar and Fears cookies for the annual family gathering. I had everything set, so when the time came to go the gathering Sunday afternoon... plans were changed.

Now usually parties and gathering change because of weather or guest host last minute problems. This was not the case. The problem is finding that person to rely on. Yep, it's true even celebrities have a hard time finding a reliable source. 

So now I have a whole batch and mouth watering white chocolate chip blue sugar cookies and no where to place to put them. Now if I'm correct, you might be saying just throw them away... can you imagine working the day away on special cookies that you end up having to trash? Not me.

Now I have to find a plan for a wasted Sunday afternoon and figure out who to send these cookie to. It just comes to show, you can't just spend your weekend with just anyone!

Let's Meet an Author: Aaron Lebold

You ready for another author?

Here's another good one: Aaron Lebold

Aaron wrote the book "Genocide" (interesting!)

 click over here to check out the book yourself> Aaron's book

Aaron likes spending time with his family, exploring, camping, and hanging out with his cats.

Aaron doesn't have a website, but you can find him at https://www.facebook.com/aaronleboldblogs/

Aaron doesn't have a favorite genre, but Jack Kerouac is his biggest inspiration.

he chose horror mixed with thriller as his genre to write. but finds it difficult to figure out which genre his writing actually fits in.

What do you think about Aaron, sounds good to me. We want to hear from you on your favorite author(s) we've found. Which book would you read?

Illustration partner

Before I tell you some fun news let me make sure you know about what you alrweady know. My artist partner Randon Timberlake has re-illustrated a few book covers for Shiver and Fears. and he still is, but as time passes it might be time to work with another partner. So that's where this artwork comes in. If you haven't heard, Shiver and Fears got an upgrade with the book "Why I Don't Play Video Games" more gruesome huh? This was put together by Mei Wu and artist found on social media. We'll see how well this goes. Meantime, we're not sure if Random still wants to work with us. Who's artwork do you like more? Randon or Mei? Randon did his picture for the book "Puppet Family" Awkward don't you think? I think so for sure.

Meanwhile here is another fearing story to tell! We are monsterfying our fans early this year! Why, you may ask, here is what we're thinking: Starting in the month of October give us 10 days for entries, 20 days for votes, and 1 day to reveal winner. (broken up evenly) By starting in August, that's a whole month to enter in the contest, a month to chat with our judges and enough time to choose which monster is the best for the whole year!

 This is an example of one of our monster fans. This isn't really the guy who entered, but he sent a picture of someone, I guess his brother, and we made a monster out of him. That's the fun part of the contest, it doesn't have to be a portrait of yourself, it can even be a drawing! Just as long as we have a name behind it, you're in.

We are encouraging social media fans to send us a picture by DM, but for you blog readers, enter the contest by sending your picture to shiverandfears@gmail.com. Just remember to add your name so if you win we know who it belongs to.

That's all we have for now, but if we have any more news... well, you know how to find us!

Let's Meet an Author: Keshia McEntire

You ready for this one? Meet Keshia McEntire

she is the writer of The Eden Saga:

(Saving Eden and Finding Eden)

Just click here < to see her work

Other than writing Keshia is interested in photography, travel, and baking

Keshia doesn't have a website, but she does have a facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/KRSMCENTIRE/

she likes to read YA dystopian, sci-fi, and fantasy

and writes YA dystopian (with science fantasy elements)

Reminds me of Magical Times books I write. Hers might be a little more adventurous. Comment what you think

Shiver and Fears

Think Positive

So I was thinking about everyone and how they may be a little bummed this month. Well, I chatted with my new friend Issac Brown and we came up with an idea to send a positive message to those around us. This is what we put together:

We are sending this video to what I like to call the 3 F's: family, friends, and fans! We want to be sure that everyone doesn't look at this as a bad thing. Those with overhead schedules, can now finally relax. Those who get distracted by friends can finally focus on their school work, and those who feel like there's nothing else to do can learn something new.

For me, I've decided to run on a schedule. With me being at home all day, I 've come to notice I live a repetitive life when I' at home. So why not make it into a daily routine? 

For those of you who don't know, Shiver and Fears is working on another book: The Happiest Show Ever. It's pretty ironic, I got the idea when watching Jimmy Neutron. When you hear about it, you think it's kind of awkward for a horror fiction book to include being happy, but like many horror fiction storytellers, we know how to make even the happiest story have a grey dark side to it!

Want more? Check out Facebook! and remember, just tell those grey skies turn around, and look over that mountain! (watch this)

Keep Writing Simple

I was chatting with a youtube subscriber about Shiver and Fears books. Unlike most critics, he used kind words. One thing he said was how as an author my writing needs editing. And although he made a good point, I had to decline his suggestion. Here's why:
What makes a good story isn't just the grammar and spelling, for example:

now I didn't write this, this was written by some young kid. Now Even though words like "witches, home, corn, stories" are spelled wrong, you can still read it well enough to understand what it's talking about. Here's another:

this is another story some kid wrote, this one isn't better, in fact, you can even see some backward letters. But once again you get pretty much get the idea of the story.

Now here's my point: I don't write like this, nor do I ever mean to write like this. You might read a Shiver and Fears book and see grammar used poorly and words spelled wrong. So you sit and think "Why doesn't this guy check his work?" True is, I do. I double-check it with Grammarly and Microsoft Word autocorrect. So where do these mistakes come from? Well, when typing I might mistype a word that still makes a work EX: "she gets typed as he" or "lots becomes lits" and sentences like "There's lots of room" becomes "There's lits of room" Grammarly doesn't even catch that mistake! But a simple person can read it and understand easily.

Now there are two reasons why I don't hire someone to edit for me:

1. I did some research, Editing sites are mostly charging for word and my chapter books come around 9000 words per chapter book and they cost about $200-$300. Your cheapest choice would be Fiverr which comes to $45 per chapter book. 

Now at this point, I have 30 books, so that would cost me a total of $1350 spent. and paying for a book each month would take 2 years and 6 months. Which might mean a pause in writing any new books. Which means less work for my unpaid partners. TOO MUCH STRUGGLE!

2. Next, understand, I'm working to get young writers like these:

 to have the power to make a real book without the thought of perfection writing. Most kids aren't concerned about 100% perfection in writing. Just the story. Now before you start thinking I encouraging bad grammar let me start by saying, I'm not! Kids aren't always perfect with their grammar and spelling, so does that mean they shouldn't write a books themselves? I grew up thinking books were only published by companies, and you had to contact them and ask for their approval. That's why I started my own book series, to make my own rules in writing and start encouraging the young generation to see the joy of writing not the stress of how to do it right!

Now with that said, you might not like Shiver and Fears books... that's ok because I feel you might be older than what I'm aiming for. Shiver and Fears are targeting juvenile chapter book readers. (That's about 3rd to 5th grade) Then why do I reach for adults on social media? I'll explain that on Friday!

😉

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!

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!

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.