ZED Creeps Inside The Top 100 // Amazon

After yesterday's action-packed launch, ZED is sitting inside the top 100 on Amazon's Suspense Occult listing for paid books. A huge and hearty thank you to everyone who has had a hand in sharing word of the latest Dovetail Cove novel. I can't believe the wonderful response.

Now remember, kids. Dovetail Cove isn't your traditional series. Even if you've never read one of these stories before (or any of my books), you can still hop on board the ZED crazy train and get a full story. It has a beginning, middle and an end. It's a standalone. But if you dig it, you can read any of the other books and get a much bigger picture of the zany island and all of its quirky residents. 

I repeat. Each Dovetail Cove book is a standalone. But the experience gets richer with each title you pick up.

Here's the synopsis and links for you to get a copy of your very own...

It’s the waning dog days of August, 1975 and Tom Mason’s in Dovetail Cove for the last few weeks of his summer job at the group home. His boss and the home’s owner is Karen Banatyne, one of the wealthiest folks in town. It seems like she’s got it in for Tom; she's the only one standing in his way as he scrimps for a new camera.

But Karen has her own problems. A regulatory agency might cut off her funding, plus her hubby hasn’t been seen in a few weeks, and she’s not saying why. Most ominous of all, it seems as though something’s hiding in the hot spring north of the main beach and one of Karen’s ‘houseguests’ is about to come face to face with evil. Tom is too.

Amazon
US: http://amzn.com/B012PB6W44
UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B012PB6W44
AU: http://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B012PB6W44
CA: http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B012PB6W44

Barnes & Noble
http://tinyurl.com/ptxjvx9

iTunes
http://tinyurl.com/pvmbsry

One Week Until Evil Arrives: ZED

ZED is the latest Dovetail Cove novel and it launches in just one week! That's right: Thursday, August 27th, the book will be available at all e-tailers and in paperback. Check back for book links allowing you to check out reviews and get a copy.

What's ZED about?

It’s the waning dog days of August, 1975 and Tom Mason’s in Dovetail Cove for the last few weeks of his summer job at the group home. His boss and the home’s owner is Karen Banatyne, one of the wealthiest folks in town. It seems like she’s got it in for Tom; she's the only one standing in his way as he scrimps for a new camera.

But Karen has her own problems. A regulatory agency might cut off her funding, plus her hubby hasn’t been seen in a few weeks, and she’s not saying why. Most ominous of all, it seems as though something’s hiding in the hot spring north of the main beach and one of Karen’s ‘houseguests’ is about to come face to face with evil. Tom is too.

Oh, and remember, this is just one of the Dovetail Cove books available.

BLED (1972) and SHED (1977) and DREAD (1978) are also available and introduce the characters and world of Dovetail Cove.

The first novella, SHED, was released in 2010 and tells the tale of two isolated boys in 1977 dealing with a mean stepfather and creepy basement visitors north of the creek in an island town called Dovetail Cove. Reader response was overwhelming so I returned to the island with a prequel called BLED -- released in 2011 but set in 1972. Last year, DREAD was released and explains even more of the Dovetail Cove strangeness, telling all about the McLeod Brothers who have returned to the island after years away. What are they back for? Why a funeral, of course.

This new story fills in the gaps and links BLED, SHED and DREAD together while setting up the DC saga for new books and a stunning conclusion.

And The Winner Is...

The contest is over and we have our winners! Thanks to everyone for taking part and sharing word of the contest and the new book.

The WINNERS!

Alex Kimmel won the main prize. He gets a pack of ebook PLUS a signed softcover edition of the new book when it's available later this summer. 

Robert Pruneda won the second prize, consisting of all the ebooks in the Dovetail Cove collection so far. 

Mark Bordner also wins the second prize and he gets e-copies of all the Dovetail Cove books so far as well.

Apologies to the ladies. I know you're out there and you definitely took part. The winners were chosen at random by random.org through Rafflecopter's engine and just happened to select three handsome and strapping boys to get the free stuff. Get 'em next time, lovely ladies!

So, on to more business. You all were supposed guess the title. I had some awesome guesses, including... FRED, DEAD, MED and SUPERTED. I love some of the creative rhyming ideas, you guys came up with. Who knows? One or more might be the titles of upcoming entries in the Dovetail world -- there are ten titles in all and this one is the fourth to be released.

So what's the real title?

ZED

And here's the cover, designed by Greg Simanson at Booktrope Editions...

"It’s the waning dog days of August, 1975 and Tom Mason’s in Dovetail Cove for the last few weeks of his summer job at the group home. His boss and the home’s owner is Karen Banatyne, one of the wealthiest folks in town. It seems like she’s got it in for Tom; she's the only one standing in his way as he scrimps for a new camera.

But Karen has her own problems. A regulatory agency might cut off her funding, plus her hubby hasn’t been seen in a few weeks, and she’s not saying why. Most ominous of all, it seems as though something’s hiding in the hot spring north of the main beach and one of Karen’s ‘houseguests’ is about to come face to face with evil. Tom is too."

ZED from Booktrope Editions is available everywhere on August 27, 2015

Dovetail Cove Contest - Name that Book!

I've written a fourth book in the Dovetail Cove series and it drops on August 27 from BookTrope Editions. It's going to delight fans of the series while creeping them out at the same time. Like before, I wondered what readers expect the new book might be called. The first book was called BLED, the second was SHED, and the third was DREAD. Hmm. Ho hum. Oh how I wonder what the next story might be named!

The Deets

So, here's how it's going to go down. The contest entry form below garners you a pile of entries for liking my Facebook author page, following this blog or sharing word of the contest. What can you win? A SIGNED paperback copy of the new Dovetail Cove novel delivered to your doorstep.

Do you have to guess the actual title to win? Nope. Have at it, have some fun. Some awesome guesses from before include FRED, BEDSPREAD, CORNFED and BEDHEAD. I love those. I chuckled. Really, I did.

I'll randomly draw a winner from all the folks who leave a guess, whether it's funny or serious, wrong or right. Meaning, you don't have to guess the actual title to win. You just have to take part. You get WAY more chances to win if you complete more of the options in the raffle. Tweeting the contest gets you 5 additional entries, for example. It's easy-peezy.

So! On to the the book. What's it called? That will be revealed after the contest concludes. I swear.

And what's it look like? That, too, shall be revealed. We'll see the fancy-schmancy cover after the contest. And it's really good. It's the first of my book jackets to be designed by another graphic artist. His name is Greg Simanson and he's the bomb. He's done an amazing job with this book jacket.

What's the new book about? Well THAT, kind friends, I can share.

About the New Book

The first novella, SHED, was released in 2010 and tells the tale of two isolated boys in 1977 dealing with a mean stepfather and creepy basement visitors north of the creek in an island town called Dovetail Cove. Reader response was overwhelming so I returned to the island with a prequel called BLED -- released in 2011 but set in 1972.

DREAD (released in 2014) fills in the gaps and links BLED and SHED together while setting up the DC saga for new books and a stunning conclusion. The new book ties directly with all three. Yup. The web in Dovetail Cove is getting stickier and even more difficult to escape.

Synopsis - Dovetail Cove (1975)

It’s the waning dog days of August, 1975 and Tom Mason’s in Dovetail Cove for the last few weeks of his summer job at the group home. His boss and the home’s owner is Karen Banatyne, one of the wealthiest folks in town. It seems like she’s got it in for Tom; she's the only one standing in his way as he scrimps for a new camera.

But Karen has her own problems. A regulatory agency might cut off her funding, plus her hubby hasn’t been seen in a few weeks, and she’s not saying why. Most ominous of all, it seems as though something’s hiding in the hot spring north of the main beach and one of Karen’s ‘houseguests’ is about to come face to face with evil. Tom is too.

The Contest

Drop in a guess for the new book's title and spread the word about the contest and you could win yourself your own copy of the new book or one of six e-copies of BLED, SHED and DREAD (2 e-copies of each title). I'll sign the print copy for the lucky grand prize winner and I can e-sign the ebooks for the second prize winners.

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Dovetail Cove Titles in 2015 and 2016

We have a launch code!

I'll be announcing the release date for the next book soon.

Ryan Dalton Reveals Cover for THE YEAR OF LIGHTNING

I'm doing it. That's right, I'm giving the reins of the Farthest Reaches to a dear friend and author. My good buddy from the world of the web, Ryan Dalton, has written a killer new young adult title and it's coming out this year. Here's Ryan to reveal the spanking new cover art and talk about how you can win stuff. Yup, Ryan's hosting a contest around the central theme of his new title. Without more from me, here's Ryan...

Hey, book fans! Don’t you hate it when you move to a new town and discover it’s being destroyed by freak lightning storms? Let me tell you, that makes for a tough year.

That, and much more, is all in my debut YA novel THE YEAR OF LIGHTNING. I am completely in love with this cover and so excited to share it with you. After you drink in its awesomeness, keep scrolling down for a brief synopsis, plus a giveaway contest that you can participate in right here in the comments.

So, without further ado, here it is! Enjoy :)

The house has no doors. It’s been abandoned for decades. Yet one night, Malcolm sees a face in the window. Thirteen-year-old twins, Malcolm and Valentine Gilbert, never imagined an old house across the street could be so much trouble, but a secret machine inside has woken up, and its power is growing.

Meanwhile, lightning storms are breaking out all over town. They’re getting worse every week and seem to enjoy striking kids who just want to pass science class and mind their own business.

Lightning, however, is rarely cooperative—and when Malcolm and Valentine discover a connection between the house and the storms, their situation goes from mysterious to crazy stupid dangerous. As they hunt a powerful enemy, they’ll realize that lightning is only the beginning. Their town’s very existence hangs in the balance, and the only clues are written in the sky.


One huge way you can support authors is by pre-ordering their books. So if THE YEAR OF LIGHTNING sounds like fun to you, here are some links.


PRE-ORDER from AMAZON


Now, onto the giveaway contest!

How would you fight a lightning storm? In one paragraph, tell us exactly how you’d do it, and don’t hold back! Get as crazy/silly/stupid/super-tough as you want - the sky is literally the limit. We’ll pick a winner from each participating blog, and I will send the winners a package containing an awesome secret clue to the central mystery in THE YEAR OF LIGHTNING.

Thanks so much for stopping by to see the cover!


Ryan Dalton