Free promo: Nov. 29 - Dec 3

#11 chosen

Amazon.com: Mrs. Cratchit's Christmas Carol (Novella) eBook: Charles Deemer: Kindle Store

Amazon.com: Mrs. Cratchit's Christmas Carol (Novella) eBook: Charles Deemer: Kindle Store:

'via Blog this'

Promo: Nov. 15-19

Overdrive #3 is free for five days.

What is #11?

Grunt work done on #10, which should be out by the weekend. Time to select #11. I'm leaning toward Casanova for its social commentary.

Promo: Nov. 8-12

Pick up a free copy of CRAVINGS during the next five days. Use link in the righthand column.

Overdrive #10 chosen

Mrs. Cratchit's Christmas Carol

This will be #10. Polishing #9 presently.

Slower but sure

Still plugging away on new title. Slower release now that I'm teaching -- but I released 8 in the summer, with a goal of 3 (!), so I am far ahead of the initial plan. I want to get out one a term, however. Moving ahead on #9, and mornings in the office on teaching days seems to be my best time for the grunt work involved in format.

Overdrive in the office

During the term, the best place to do format grunt work may be in my office at the university before class time. We'll see. I am hoping to find a routine that still produces a new book every 6 weeks or so.

Publicity

http://www.pdx.edu/sustainability/news/charles-deemer-english-adjunct-faculty-published-series-eight-kindle-novellas-over-summer-works

Nice blurb on campus today.

A new term

Now that I'm teaching again, progress on new titles will be slower.

Posted via Blogaway

A Writerly Revenge is next

An old writer blames his agent for lack of fame and fortune.

New Overdrive published

Recovery, Overdrive #8, is now available at Amazon.

Format done

#8 ready for polish. Release next week looks good.

Progress

  Back to back ten page days on #8. Shooting for late next week release.

Late start

Finally started the grunt work for #8, getting first 10 pages formatted. Hope to keep at it and release the book next week. We'll see.

Coming next

Onward with Recovery

Working on cover of #8 and also will be re-format work today. Ever onward!

#8 chosen

 Going to do Recovery, in honor of my VA counselor, who passed away. He was younger than I am, is the model for the character in the story.

#7 published

Finally. Now to select #8 ...

A little behind

 Victory Sisters a tad late but coming along now ... end of week, I hope.

Polishing #7

Format done, moving on to the next step ... 7 should be released this week.

Number 7 soon

Finishing up grunt/format work of 7, might be out by the weekend.

Progress report

Slowly moving forward with #7, might be ready before the end of the month. And what will #8 be? Haven't received a progress report from Saudi Arabia.

The Writing Life II: #7 chosen

The Writing Life II: #7 chosen:

'via Blog this'

The Writing Life II: #6 now available

The Writing Life II: #6 now available:

'via Blog this'

Proof and polish

#6 in the final stages of prep. Should be released early next week.

99 cent sale

  Stealing the Wrong Identity is on sale for 99 cents until Saturday. Link in right column.

#5 gets 5 stars

First review, one I like a lot. Very thoughtful.

I am not the intended audience for Deemer's books - I'm an avid reader who enjoys the depth and development of the novels I read. The short, clipped passages here are somewhat frustrating for me. In a way, EMIL'S LAST ADVENTURE reads like the treatment for a movie (Deemer is a professor of screenwriting, after all), leaving me wanting much more. But in another way, I appreciate what Deemer is able to do in just a few pages, and there's no doubt his characters come alive for the reader in just a few words.

Two things I will remember most about EMIL'S LAST ADVENTURE: 1) the Goosenecks of San Juan River, in Utah (I had never even heard of them before reading this, but the images I found on Google were so breathtaking I'm determined to make the trip!), and 2) "Song of the Turkey Buzzard," by poet Lew Welch ("Not the bronze casket but the brazen wing, soaring forever above thee, o perfect, o sweetest water, o glorious wheeling bird"). This is a satisfying and thought-provoking story that is definitely worth a read.

 Also a new 4 star review for #1.

#6

  Good progress today. May be released next week.

#4 gets 5 stars

  First review.

  Refugee #3 got 3 stars from reviewer who wanted traditional prose.

Paperback

 Publishing hard copy of #5, Emil's Last Adventure, to give as gift to a few friends. Proof arrived today. Looks good, as slim as a book of poems. My signature story.

Amazon plug

  Yesterday A. featured Whistleblower, which topped a list of recommended mystery/thriller/suspense books. A first.

Emil's Last Adventure

Officially published. Link in right column.

#5 released tomorrow

Should happen.

Interesting development

Reviewer below removed the 4 star review and replaced it with a 5.

Cravings gets first review

4 stars, "funny, bloody and unique." I'll take it.

Looking ahead

Check out the Future Stories in the right hand column ... we have no less than eight lined up for publication! Hopefully about one a month.

Next up

 Working on first by another author, Saudi Portlandia (present title, which I'm not wild  about), which will be #5 or 6, much harder to prepare than my own stories. My next story will be the first drama in the series.

Early kudos

From the early reviews ...

"This hybrid between novella and screenwriting is fantastic ... a groundbreaking new form of narrative"

"I loved Charles' writing and recommend this as a quick fun read"

"will keep you glued to the pages"

"original, fast-paced story ... a different kind of reading experience"

If we can keep this going, we may be in business.

Another 5 stars for Roswell

 See review at Amazon.

Release day

Overdrive 4, Stealing the Wrong Identity, was published today and is available for purchase. Link in right column.

#4 close

  Finished the grunt work on #4, now called Stealing the Wrong Identity. Might be ready by end of week.

The Writing Life II: First rate reviewer

The Writing Life II: First rate reviewer:

This is the most encouraging news yet because it suggests young readers in their 20s could really get behind this.

This woman has old school manners, which I appreciate. She could have posted her negative review and brought down the Amazon average forever. Instead she writes me personally with suggestions how to turn it into a, well, novelization. I respond that I dismissed that alternative because I am up to something very different. I told her what and why. She was curious enough to pass Whistleblower on to her three grown sons. All of whom loved it! "All the boring stuff is taken out!" What in screenwriting we call clutter. The meat and potatoes of the true novelist. The triumph of story over rhetoric, which is what a screenplay ends up being in the final analysis.

I am encouraged by this development. Meanwhile, the marathon, one foot after the other ... and we'll see what happens.

The Writing Life II: How I got a blank book to the top of the Amazon charts | The Passive Voice |

The Writing Life II: How I got a blank book to the top of the Amazon charts | The Passive Voice |:

Talk about the importance of marketing over content today! Sad but true.

5 stars for Roswell

"...keeps you glued to the page..."

Next three

I've chosen my next three titles, including the first by another author, a former grad student of mine, her Masters thesis script. More later.

The Writing Life II: Democratic art

The Writing Life II: Democratic art:

'via Blog this'

Roswell this weekend

Just sent next to last submission of #3 to Amazon. Should be available late today or tomorrow.

4th review

 Interesting. Didn't believe plot, didn't like writing style, and still gave it 4 stars and looks forward to more. Go figure.

Another 5 stars

 Whistleblower received another great review, this one hip to the new form.

#3 progress

Finished the grunt work on Roswell #3. Now the fun part, polishing the story without format issues.

But the grunt work goes so much more quickly now than in the beginning, thanks to help from rather clever Search and Replace commands. I seem to be doing one every couple weeks now.

The Writing Life II: Most supportive comment of the day

The Writing Life II: Most supportive comment of the day:

'via Blog this'

Another 5 star review

Amazon.com: Stop the Whistleblower (Stories In Overdrive) eBook: Charles Deemer: Kindle Store:

 "Deemer is promising to deliver more stories in this series and I for one am looking forward to that."

'via Blog this'

New author

#4 will be from former grad student I mentored, a woman in Saudi Arabia. More later.

The Writing Life II: Premises of my narrative experiment

The Writing Life II: Premises of my narrative experiment:

'via Blog this'

Cravings now available

Info and link in right column.

At work on Rufugee From Roswell, #3.

Progress

Fir submission of #2 to Amazon this morning.

The marathon officially begins, or Our First Review

Didn't take long!

5.0 out of 5 stars

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5.0 out of 5 stars

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Drastic measures June 21, 2013

By Mary Crocco

Format:Kindle Edition

Reading the novella, Stop the Whistleblower, is compelling. The book is written

 like a screenplay and I'm fascinated by the no fluff writing style of Charles Deemer.

As the title suggests, the book is about a whistleblower. Ray is a white man who

 works for BeautiLine. VitaTan is a new suntan pill the company manufactures and

 according to Ray, the pill is not safe and he can prove it, and we all know what

 happens to whistleblowers.

Drastic measures are taken to keep Ray quiet - an overdose of VitaTan - and Ray

 is now a black man. Trying to convince everyone he is Ray, the white man, is where 

the story becomes full of suspense and humor. That's right, I found it to be quite 

comical at times, which makes it an entertaining read.

Experiencing life as a black man is eye-opening for Ray, his situations range from 

not being able to hail a cab, to sleeping with a black woman, to being arrested. 

This all happens while he tries to deal with a jealous half-brother and revenge

 plans for BeautiLine.

No spoilers here, you'll have to read, Stop the Whistleblower, by Charles Deemer,

 to see if Ray lives his life as a free white man or an incarcerated black man.

Progress

Draft of #2 done sooner than I expected. Give it a careful read and take notes.

Want to change order to do my only scifi story next. Good marketing opportunity if I can finish in mid July.

Found two reviewers for #1. So far, so good.

The Writing Life II: Promo

The Writing Life II: Promo:

'via Blog this'

2 day promo

This weekend, Saturday and Sunday, you can pick up #1 free. Here is the link:

Free promo of Stop the Whistleblower

Press release

Stories In Overdrive Offers Stories For Smart Phones And Tablets

Portland, OR, USA – Charles Deemer has launched “Stories In Overdrive,” a series of fast-paced novellas designed especially to be read on smart phones and tablets. The first title, “Stop the Whistleblower,” was released on June 13, 2013. Deemer plans to publish a new title every six to eight weeks.

In “Stop the Whistleblower,” Ray, a corporate employee, plans to expose the dangerous side effects of the company's "suntan pill", which is based on a new Temporary Genetic Manipulation technology (TGM). But before Ray can break the news at a stockholders meeting, he is slipped an overdose of the suntan drug -- and wakes up as a black man. Now nobody will believe him and, moreover, he gets arrested for the disappearance of his own white self!

Deemer got the idea of a special writing style for reading on smart phones and tablets from teaching screenwriting at Portland State University for 15 years. “In screenwriting,” says Deemer, “we use the term 'vertical writing' to indicate that the eye should move down the page, not across the page. Story elements take precedence over rhetorical flourishes. The story is the thing. Watching my students read on their smart phones, it occurred to me that this vertical writing style was perfectly suited to electronic devices and that stories could be told this way.”

The Stories In Overdrive website contains news of available titles, future releases and promotions and can be found at http://storiesinoverdrive.blogspot.com.

Jump start

The series officially has launched bright and early this morning.

Getting ready to launch

Maybe this weekend. Test promo.