SILVER’S BOOK REVIEWS: “WILL O’ THE WISP,” BY C. S. BOYACK

I just found this amazing review of Will O’ the Wisp. Trot on over to Colleen’s site to check it out, and while you’re there consider following her blog.

Meet the main character

I'm being hosted at Rebecca Reilly's blog today. Here is a chance to meet my main character, Patty Hall.

Welcome! I am happy to host C.S. Boyack today as he journeys across the Web on his Frighteningly Fun Halloween Tour! Enjoy!

Don’t forget to comment below, and be sure to pick up Will ‘O the Wisp for a great Halloween read!

Read more at Rebecca's blog…

Come visit me at Wendy Scott’s blog

My tour for Will O' the Wisp kicks off today. If you're looking for a Halloween story this time of year, please consider this one.

The Frighteningly Fun Halloween Tour

Will O' the Wisp is a paranormal tale from C. S. Boyack. It involves a mildly handicapped girl facing a mysterious threat. The wisp has been killing off Patty Hall's family for generations, and she's next on the list. It is suitable for young adult readers. It's a perfect Halloween read.

In most blog tours readers want to know what jarred the author's imagination into writing a story. The fact is that inspiration comes from everything. I find inspiration in music, film, television, art, books, even random conversations.

It so happened that I was spending some time with my grandchildren. They wanted to watch a movie and chose Brave. Read more at Wendy's site…

Blog Tour Day #1

I'm being hosted by Robin Chambers today. He's got an excerpt from Will O' the Wisp. This bit involves the first sighting of the wisp. Please visit Robin here: http://myrddinsheir.com/blog/?p=103#comment-56

Two seconds after my last post, WOW is live.

It was a gloomy day at the Writing Cabin. I went into my paranormal office and sat at Patty Hall’s roll top desk to begin my day. The enchanted window showed an image of giant spiders attacking New York. Why do things attack New York or Tokyo? There are some perfectly wonderful other cities on Earth they could attack.

I opened the desk, pulled on my lab coat, and went to work. I needed to upload Will O’ the Wisp to Amazon to make Patty’s story available to everyone. This is a great tale, and I think it’s the best thing I’ve ever written. It’s even suitable for young adults.

I kept getting the red message that I forgot something. Amazon even deleted my blurb and made me write it out again. This is par for the course, and I soldiered on.

The enchanted beer horns tip toed into my office and rubbed on my leg.

They acted like apprehensive kittens until I petted them. “Let me finish uploading this, and then we’ll have something malty and frosty.”

I soldiered on through uploading the cover art, and had to do that twice. It seems I forgot something, and had to answer all the questions again. It finally became time to hit publish.

I pushed the button.

The beer horns honked in unison, and Lisa Burton* filled them both with Old Chub Scottish Ale. They strutted around like little bantam roosters.

I released the Will O’ the Wisp from its bell jar and watched it careen around the room. The beer was frothy and cold, and I eased back in my chair and watched the wisp.

Tomorrow I’d have to do it all again to make the international version live. The only difference is two paragraphs, and I anticipate a fight with Amazon. Still, it was an accomplishment. I picked up one of the beer horns and took a large swig.

“Why don’t you take them in the other room, and I’ll clean up in here,” Lisa said.

“Alright, Wisp is an officially published book tonight. There’s more to do, but it’s out there now.”

“You can tackle the rest in the morning. You don’t take enough time to savor the moment. Maybe you can watch some Walking Dead or Twilight zone.”

Does she deserve that raise?

She was right, of course. I carried my beer into my main office. The other beer horn trotted after me. While she cleans up the paranormal office, I’m going to sip my beer and relax.”

After I made my last post, Amazon told me the book was live in the Kindle store. It was approximately two seconds after I hit publish on my blog post.

The link for the USA, Canada, and Mexico is http://a-fwd.com/asin-com=B00UPH6BNS

Tomorrow I’ll work on the international version. Then I need to get the Goodreads librarians to add it to my list, and merge both editions into one.

If everything works out well, tomorrow I’ll tell you what this story is about and update my “about me” page.

Don’t forget those early downloads are important. This includes the borrows from the library and the Kindle Unlimited program. (Of course, if you’re one of my regulars, I’ll give the darned thing to you if you ask.)

* Lisa is the main character in Wild Concept. She’s a robot and helps me around the Writing Cabin these days. She’s also the spokes model for Entertaining Stories.

The Secret’s Out!

Time for a cover reveal. My dear friend Rachel produced the cover for Will O’ the Wisp. It’s only fair to let her reveal it. Please check it out at her blog and consider following this talented lady.

Rachel Carrera, Novelist

So you’ve all heard me talk about my good friend and blogging brother, Craig Boyack, before.  Craig is an awesome writer, and when he named his blog “Entertaining Stories,” I wonder if he knew just how right on the money that name would be.

Well, Craig and I have been sharing a secret that I’ve been dying to let out of the bag!  Now if your mind is in the gutter, get it out.  It’s not that kind of secret!  This secret has to do with an edge-of-your-seat story that Craig wrote called Will O’ the Wisp.

A few months ago, Craig graciously allowed me to beta read for him.  At the time, I really didn’t know that a will o’ the wisp was an actual thing, but rather, I thought it was a term he made up himself.  Knowing how much I love working with Photoshop, around the…

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Saddle up! Time for Panama’s free day

Tuesday, all day, my paranormal adventure, Panama, will be free. I have a theory some people are waiting for this one. It’s been pulling in some wonderful reviews.

Panama is the story of two former military men. The President knows they have unusual skills, and brings them together to investigate a mystery at the construction site of The Panama Canal.

This is a self serious story of the paranormal. It involves an international construction crew, and the magic represented is international in scope as well. A demon is spiriting construction workers away and turning them into an invading army. They are (barely) under the control of a Spanish Carlist rebel with designs on re-establishing Spain’s lost colonies.

Listen to what the reviewers are saying:

“The story takes several surreal twists and turns as it navigates its way through the unlikely pair’s adventures. It’s clear they don’t have a clue about what they’re doing, which is what makes them so endearing, and which leads them into many a scrape, but they muddle along, making enemies, friends and allies as they go.”

“The writing is funny and sad, cynical and naive, plausible and incredible, and quirky as hell – and it all works and makes you feel like you’re right in there with the characters who all leap out at you.”

“Boyack has created a great story, with the result being a fascinating, enjoyable book that is very well written. His character development and descriptions of the scenes are extremely well done. It is an easy read and captures your attention almost immediately.”

“The characters at times say completely unexpected things or act in ways that will make you laugh out loud. You will never be quite sure how the story will end.”

***

Okay, I’m about to blush. Those are some wonderful things to say about my story.

I grew up around actual Cowboys, Basque people, and gold miners. The dialog between Ethan and Coop is authentic. I hope you’ll grab a copy of Panama on its free day.

PS: It would be really cool if someone from Panama would pick up a copy of Panama.

The Fates are Smiling

Last week one of my Macabre Macaroni stories yielded the highest number of views and follows in one day. That record lasted exactly one day. The next day surpassed the day I posted. I’ve gotta tell you, I was one happy blogger.

Things got even better today. I woke up, fed the old pit bull, and made coffee. When I opened my iPad and checked my email, it completely blew up.

It took me a minute to figure out what happened. I was selected for a “push day” with the Rave Reviews Book Club. They call this “Push Tuesday,” but it was Monday.

Club members are supposed to post all over social media and promote my book to their followers. I had hundreds of mentions on Twitter, and many of those folks have thousands of followers. I may have reached a million people today.

The club chose to promote Panama, and it was a good choice. This is a fun story, and is a great intro to my work. I managed a few book sales too. I don’t know if there will be any carryover, but I hope so.

I didn’t sell a jillion books, but it was Panama’s best day ever. Someone even picked up a copy using Kindle Unlimited. This has happened a couple of times now, but I still think it’s cool.

I’m celebrating. I’ve had to build my writing project one brick at a time. Today I hit an easy stretch. Maybe I’ll get a dozen reviews out of this.

Here’s a link to the Rave Reviews Book Club. You guys might want to check it out for yourselves.

And, just in case, here is a link to Panama. There might be one of you who didn’t get the tweet today.

Any idea how to thank a couple of hundred Twitter folks?