Weekly Newsletter
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In history class, we are studying WWII.
For a ticket-out-the-door, our teacher wanted us to write a sentence using the word, “Nazi.”
I wrote, “I did Nazi that question coming.”
The news is still all about audio this week. Turns out Audible has been paying attention to the competition, specifically Spotify. They’ve announce “Immersion Reading,” which is an answer to Spotify’s “Page Match.” Basically, if you own the audiobook on their platform as well as the ebook on Kindle, the two will sync up so you can go back and forth seamlessly. That’s good to know, though not as wowing as Spotify’s setup with AI capabilities. But hey, let’s give Audible a cyber pat in the back. Good to see they’re trying. Sarcasm aside, readers should be on the lookout for more “convergence” features in the future, though there are some metaphorical wrinkles to be ironed out, like money.
Banned book update - turns out my two banned books are not so banned after all. When it comes to fiction, even juvenile fiction, Bookshop.org prefers longer works. My two horror books are basically too short to ride their rollercoaster. This is often a problem for middle grade fiction. The books have to be long enough for kids to sink their teeth into, but short enough to keep from scaring reluctantly readers away. I didn’t read the proverbial fine print, I suppose. Plus, my two poetry books weren’t blocked, and they are far shorter. Poetry gets all the breaks. The good news is that I have options. I may eventually combine the two stories, but I’m not sure about that for now.
The Smashwords Sale has begun. It’s officially “Read an Ebook Week.” All my titles are half off. Three of my titles, including the poetry books mentioned above, are absolutely FREE. Thousands of authors participate, just type my name in the search bar after going to www.smashwords.com/sale .
I know this is sounding like a commercial, but all points are converging right now. (Even six of our planets have lined up this morning. If you missed it, it kind of looked like this - . . . . . .) Anyway, MoonDom Five is still on preorder for 99 cents, but you’ve got less than two weeks. Then all the other formats roll out, and the price goes up. Here’s your link and promo cover. 👇👇👇
On the writing front, we are now getting close to the bottom of page 27 of the current jokes for kids project. Squash Light hasn’t moved on yet, but soon will. Most of my writing is done over school breaks, so April should see a jump in productivity. Meanwhile, I just posted the audiobook version of YOU TRYNA BE FUNNY? JOKES FOR KIDS on the podcast section in the paid side of this Substack (available on Spotify too). Otherwise, check out the Free Preview or even claim the first free post if you’re a visitor or free subscriber. Life is short. Have a few laughs with your kids. The text version is on the way soon as well.
Until Next Time, God Bless!
