#tim tash

It is still July, so that must mean the latest Wizard Tale is still free, and my other stuff is still discounted at Smashwords.

ALSO, Tim's Tales of Haydon is still free at Smashwords.  Just get over there & use the coupon codes that are on each respective page.

If you want to read a sample before you download, Smashwords has very generous samples on each book's page!

Here's some cover art & details: The Wizard Takes a Holiday: FREE <---coming soon, exciting updates!!!, but feel free to dl now if you so desire.

The Wizard Takes a Fitness Class: Free w/ coupon

Tales of Haydon: Free with coupon

This Brilliant Darkness: $1.50 with coupon, 50% off

Troll or Derby: $2.24 with coupon, 25% off (I think.  My math is fuzzy this morning.  MOAR COFFY, pls!)

That's all we got for now, but we sure do love you and find you attractive!

Happy Samplin', happy readin'! 

Are you lazing about with nothing to do?  Smashwords is having a big summer sale through 7/31.  I decided to throw my titles in with the rest, including Tim's short story collection.

Tim's Tales of Haydon, FREE via Smashwords with code SSWIN.

  The Wizard Takes a Holiday (always free!), and now The Wizard Takes a Fitness Class, free through 7/31 with code SSWIN.

This Brilliant Darkness is only $1.50 through 7/31 with code SSW50.

Troll Or Derby is on sale, too.  $2.99 with code SSW25.

Those prices are only good via Smashwords, with the exception of The Wizard Takes a Holiday, which is a free flash fiction piece everywhere!  If you see The Wizard Takes a Holiday with a price other than free, please report it as free elsewhere, would you?  Email me if you need help with that.  RedTashBooks at gmail.com

I will have another post for you hopefully later today.  Waiting for my blog tour stop to run through its necessary safety checks.  

Did you know that before a roller derby bout, your equipment has to be checked for safety?  If you're missing a mouthguard, forget it.  Your elbow pad is coming loose?  Better get some duct tape on that mother fast.  A loose toe stop rolling out into the middle of the track during the jam can result in skaters being injured.  That used to happen a lot during practice.  

Hey, folks.  I don't have one particular writer guest post today, but I do have some shout-outs I'd like to make:

1.) Axel Howerton.  Simply the coolest.  One of the funniest, smartest guys I've met in years.  If you haven't read his work yet, you are going to want to remedy that, because life is short and you don't want to miss out.  Axel Howerton.  Axel Howerton.  Apply directly to the forehead.  What are you waiting for?  Do it now.

There is much more I could do to sing the praises of all that is Howerton, but stay tuned. For now, just go visit Axel Howerton on Amazon.

2.)  Jessica Love.  A rising star in YA fiction.  Jessica reads & reviews a lot of books, in addition to writing them, herself, and her opinions are excellent.  If you want to keep up with YA, you could do a lot worse than her blog.  Additionally, she's a high school teacher, so she both knows English as well as teens!  I met her online (word up, xanga) when she just a breezy California girl blogging about her life fresh out of college, and it has been a pleasure watching her blossom into a happy professional lady who loves what she does and lives her entire life with passion and grace (and a nice glass of wine).  Jessica Love KNOWS and loves YA fiction and she's just a joy to read.  I can't wait for her book to come out.  

Jess is on my mind today because she recently gave me some excellent notes on a partial of Troll Or Derby, and it's really got me pumped.  I need to tighten that mother down, and I think I'm finally ready to get back to work on it!  

Go give Jessica Love some...well, love!

3.)  Jessica McHugh.  The McHugh is on my mind this morning because thanks to her suggestion of using text-to-speech (which I'm taking to hear the computer read my The Wizard Takes a Fitness Class story), I'm moving forward so much faster with my edits on that little ditty than I would, otherwise.  I've been able to catch some clunky prose and edit it in time, and thats such a face-saver.  Makes me wish that I'd used this trick in the past, in other work.  I've been big on reading my work aloud--it really does help you catch the awkward stuff--but this TTS trick bailed me out this morning when I had already read the same page aloud four times to my 8 y.o. son and still hadn't caught what was bothering me.  It wasn't until I heard the computer voice of my MacBook (defaulted to "Alex," fwiw) that I caught the awkward segue between paragraphs nine and ten.  Identified.  Eliminated.  Onward, ho!

Beyond her usefulness as a fellow writer, Jessica McHugh cracks me up *every single day*.  Her FB statuses are genius, her poems are fantastic, and what I've read of her fiction has been excellent.  I bought one of her recent books--the girl's prolific and you should probably just go and take your pick--and look forward to experiencing it, as well.

Jessica McHugh on Amazon

The McHughonaut writes Speculative Fiction, btw.  And she often writes while she drinks craft beer.  C'mon, you'll love this girl:

4.)  Last but not least, Tim Tash.  Not only is he my handsome & sexy life companion and my best friend, but he's an amazing storyteller.  His stories always contain a lot more heart than anything I can concoct.  And the versatility!  OMG!  If they ever invent a device that can scan your mind and instantly write, illustrate, or film his fiction ideas, Tim will be more accomplished than Asimov & Pratchett put together.  There won't be enough libraries in the world to hold all his creations.  I don't just mean "What if" premises.  He's really VERY good with start, finish, middle, dramatic story arcs, all that jazz.

Whereas I find myself gravitating toward thinking characters who observe life through what I hope are wry observations and goofy missteps, Tim's characters blaze bravely through their troubles, or mope deeply in quagmires of their own making, or falter in unabashed ambition or other flawed emotional landscapes.  Tim's characters wear their hearts on their sleeves, and mine feel positively secretive in comparison.  (The irony is that we are actually the diametric opposite in our lives...I tend to be more blabby and forthcoming, whereas he tries to keep his cards close to his chest.  Regardless, we are both horrible poker players!)

The sad reality is that Tim is still holding his writing cards a little too closely to his chest.  That's why most of you reading this won't have read his work.  He's got one collection of short stories he never intended to publish, available right now.  I edited it up for him and it's really quite enjoyable, even though it's higher fantasy than I normally enjoy.  

But in the immortal words of LeVar Burton, don't take my word for it!

(Thanks again, Thea, for the review!)

Hopefully in the near future he will have another book for you, based on that same world.  And there's another super secret project he may or may not be involved in, that I hear is going quite well.

But all of that aside, today I give Tim a shout out for two very good reasons: 1.) He's helping me figure out what to do with my Wizard's Kung Fu Zombies, and making me realize that sometimes what I intend to be subtle emotional undertones don't translate, so perhaps I should at least consider experimenting with the weight of slightly heftier hammers.  2.)  He asked if we could have a writing date tonight.  Praise Jesus, of course I said yes.  Man of my dreams and me and our beautiful kid, scarfing down irrelevant food & swilling coffee while trading off baby-amusement duties and typing as fast as we can?  Yes.  YES.  Yes.  It may only last for two hours, but you know what it means to have a spouse that suggests such a thing?  If you're a writer, you know how cool that is.  

This weekend we'll be working on the house, I'm sure.  Painting.  Maybe we'll get around to looking at that gutter situation.  Hot stuff, huh?  But tonight, we write.

Tim on Amazon:   Tales of Haydon

EVERYONE ABOVE got a shout-out today because they've all contributed something recently toward making me a better writer.  Over the past year, I've been thrilled to find people who like reading my work, but I'm not content to churn out writing at the same level of quality.  I want to improve.  I want to get better and better and better.  These four writers above are very good writers, each in his or her own way.  They all have different strengths and weaknesses, but among them, they share a generosity of spirit and kindness that I am grateful for.  Because of them, and because of reader feedback on my work (what works, what doesn't work), I know that I am improving technically, and as a storyteller.

It's exciting.  And I'm very happy.

And these four are a part of that.  So thanks, ladies and gents.  

Readers, go check 'em out.

FOLKS, I will get back to my regular Writer Wednesday feature as submissions come in.  You know how to reach me if you want to get featured.  This is the internet, and I'm everywhere. Just write to me.

PS, if you're local, check out my spotlight on local author Marian Allen yesterday, if you so desire.  She's also been a Writer Wednesday guest in the past.  I've also done a spotlight on Jack Wallen, and coming soon, John Locke.  Who knows who'll be next?