Book Promotion – Page 5 – R.J. Sullivan Fiction

New Author Photo

With the release of Darkness with a Chance of Whimsy now just a couple weeks away, I wanted to do something new and interesting with my author photo. In a way, I see the short story collection as the end of an era, the time when I was finding my voice and discovering who I was as a writer and what I have to say. While this question will never entirely go away, I feel like I’ve started to get a handle on this in the past five years, and I wanted to celebrate the moment alongside my most popular creations that have been so important in growing my readership.

I brought this “family portrait” idea to Nell Williams, who has done several awesome CGI creations for me in the past. She was as excited about the concept as I was and brought her “A-game” to the task to make the idea a reality.

So here is the official author photo as it will appear in the collection.
Left to Right: Rebecca Burton, Maxine Marie, me holding the Magical Mermaid Mug, and Fiona “Blue” Shaefer.

And here’s a color version for fun:

Darkness with a Chance for Whimsy is a collection of ten short stories and is on track to come out in ebook and paperback by Seventh Star Press in mid-June. I will definitely have copies of the book for sale in time for Inconjunction in Indianapolis over Fourth of July weekend. Stay tuned for more details.

New Release Cover Reveal Today!

I’m very excited to reveal the cover to my next release, the short story collection Darkness With a Chance of Whimsy: Ten Years, Ten Stories.

Follow this link to the Seventh Star Press site to read the details and see the book trailer (or wait a couple of days when I’ve added all that to the website….but seriously, RAISE THOSE CLICKS, PEOPLE).

The collection is due out next month, and includes many hard-to-find stories unavailable since their original publications, including Assurance Salesman, Inner Strength, Fade, and Robot Vampire.

PS: Apparently trying to find the keywords to locate the image of a painting covered by cloth on an easel is an impossible task. Enjoy my creative solution of an image.

EVENT: 5th Annual Authors Fair

This weekend, I launch into convention / book fair season with a fun gathering in Madison, Indiana. The Book Fair hosted by That Book Place is going on its fifth year (I hooked up in year two and haven’t missed it since). I can’t express enough how grateful I am for book stores in little communities like That Book Place in Madison, IN, and its owner Frank Hall, who goes far above and beyond with events like these to support us local authors.

But first, due to some recent political ugliness that has nothing to do with representing true Hoosier values, Frank offers the following to all guests:

“This store has been and always will be open to everyone. We are a safe haven for people to be themselves with out fear of harassment or ridicule. Everyone is welcome to their own opinion and we accept that, but Bigotry is something that is unacceptable.”

Frank speaks for myself and every author and book vendor I know that is likely to attending this event.

With "Virtual Blue" Nikki Howard! — With “Virtual Blue” Nikki Howard!

Anyway, on to the cool stuff. The event has grown every year, and this year it is bursting at the seams, coming very close to 100 authors (if it hasn’t hit there by now) and will be off site from That Book Place for the first time ever. Also for the first time, food vending will be available onsite for authors and guests.

I am attending Saturday 10 am-6 pm only, but in the unlikely event you might want to see other authors as well (I suppose it’s possible) festivities begin Friday night with reader- and writer-related panels, and continue through Saturday. Author readings are also scheduled all day, with yours truly offering up a little something from Haunting Blue at 1:40 pm.

I’ll be at my table or mingling with the crowds all day while selling and signing copies of my paranormal trilogy: Haunting Blue, Haunting Obsession, and Virtual Blue.

So join us for the fun! Check out the full schedule of events and driving directions at the official website and Facebook Event Page, and you can see my photo albums from previous years by clicking here and here .

Online event: Seventh Star Press Spotlight on Fiona Shaefer

I’m thrilled to announce that Tuesday, March 3, Seventh Star Press is pointing its Series Spotlight on my paranormal thrillers, with an introduction to the series and a 24 hour 99 cent sale in multiple ebook version of Haunting Blue, the first book (Normally $3.99). Click here to be forwarded to the spotlight announcement.

Thanks for your support, and please help spread the word.

New Blue Christmas Art!

Nell Williams has created a new Blue Christmas image for 2014, a (mostly) annual tradition of putting my characters in various holiday scenes for Christmas time, with the tag “Have a Blue Christmas.” This year, she Nell rendered a scene directly from the new short story “Blue Christmas” as featured in GIFTS OF THE MAGI.

Here is the base art:

Which she cropped to this.

Variations for Facebook memes:

And I cropped further for this portrait-like view of Blue and Chip.

Personally I love this rendition of the characters, particularly Blue. She’s grown a lot and been through a lot in two novels, and Nell captured the growth and maturity of that journey, something I didn’t expect from a fun little marketing piece. It makes me excited to write the next book in her story. Hmmmm…..

Past Nell Williams Blue Christmas images:

and…

Gifts of the Magi Book Signing Thursday

Gifts of the Magi cover by John F. Allen

This Thursday, from 5:30-7 pm, I’ll join seven other authors at Indy Reads Books in downtown Indianapolis in support of Gifts of the Magi: A Speculative Holiday Collection. We’ll each read a excerpt from our short stories and remain available to sign copies and hopefully raise a lot of money for a good cause.

I’ll be reading an excerpt from the my short story in the collection, “Blue Christmas.”

Gifts of the Magi will be offered through Indy Reads Books, while I’ll have copies of Haunting Blue, Haunting Obsession, and Virtual Blue for sale. And of course, you can browse offerings from our other authors. It should be a great time and a fantastic opportunity to check off a lot of people on your Christmas list.

Click here to join the Facebook event page.
Click here to read all the details.

RJ’s Cyber Monday Sale

So today is Cyber Monday and Seventh Star Press is putting two of my titles on sale (plus an anthology in which I can be found) for 99 cents each. Respectively, with page links, they are:

Haunting Blue, the first of the Paranormal Trilogy:
Haunting Obsession, the standalone followup in the Paranormal Trilogy;
Vampires Don’t Sparkle, a short story collection that includes my popular short story Robot Vampire.

I have made three videos promoting the sales, which you can find here.

If you have not read my books before, this is a great opportunity to jump in at a huge savings. If you have, please consider purchasing an ebook as a gift for a friend.

If you’re wondering how else you can support me, please email, tweet, or share on Facebook the link to this blog on your wall. Post the videos, If you feel inclined to praise the books when you do so, that might also help.

Thanks for your consideration. Whatever happens from this is every bit as much from the efforts of my readers as it is from me. Have a great Cyber Monday.

Reading from Blue Christmas

As promised, here is the reading of the start of Blue Christmas, as featured in GIFTS OF THE MAGI: A SPECULATIVE FICTION COLLECTION available now.

All proceeds from this collection benefit Indy Reads Books.

RJ’s Cyber Monday Trilogy of Trailers

So because I can’t leave a good thing alone, I made more videos to promote the Cyber Monday sale. I now have three, giving me (*monster emcee voice*) A CYBER MONDAY TRILOGY OF TRAILERS!!!

I’ll be posting and tweeting them next week, and of course Cyber Monday, but here they are arranged in a blog post for your viewing leisure.

For Haunting Blue

For Haunting Obsession

And because of the short story Robot Vampire in Vampires Don’t Sparkle edited by Michael West, here’s a promotion for all three titles.

The Cyber Monday 99 cents sale is a promotion by Seventh Star Press. Pricing on Amazon will auto-drop Dec 1, so you can grab up all three titles and many more from the Seventh Star catalog.

Come back Monday: for a new blog in which I read part of my short story Blue Christmas, part of Gifts of the Magi: A Speculative Fiction Collection.

My Cyber Monday Trailer

Here’s a little something to help you plan ahead for Monday, Dec. 1, when Haunting Blue goes on sale for one day only. If you already know it and love it, make sure to tell your friends. As most of you know, this is the first book of the series, so “hook”ing new readers with this one is what it’s all about. (Yes, I went there.)

So check it out and remember to head to Amazon on Cyber Monday!

Yep, I made a new video. I learned the limitations of the program and took on something less ambitious. My first project, the book trailer for Gifts of the Magi, took a day and a half. This one took half an hour. Progress! That means there may be more of them.