Over 900 Downloads!

Writing those eight flash fiction stories was a lot of fun...and as of today, they've been downloaded over 900 times on Smashwords.com! (923 to be exact, but who's counting???)  "Beach House" is leading the way with 136 Smashwords downloads, and is sitting at #27,382 on Barnes & Noble.  They've all started appearing on B&N, Sony, Diesel, and Kobo, but the numbers haven't been reported as of yet.  I can't wait to see!  (I also can't wait until the Second Round'ers are announced for the 2013 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, but that's a different subject...)

Here's the Smashwords links & the dates they were published:

"Ripple" (9 Dec 2012)
"Feed the Bear" (13 Dec 12)
"Table Manners" (16 Dec 12)
"Beach House" (21 Dec 12)
"Solace" (23 Dec 12)
"Legend" (28 Dec 12)
"Sluagh" (31 Dec 12)
"Spirit Board" (6 Jan 13)

If you read one, feel free to leave a review!

2013 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award - Submitted!

At zero-dark thirty this morning, I submitted my novel THE MENGELE EFFECT for the 2013 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award (ABNA).  The submission included a 300-word pitch (posted yesterday, if you saw that entry), a 5,000-word excerpt, and the full manuscript...mine was ~84,000 words (based on the computer word count) or ~124,000 words (based on an old-school publishers count of 250 words per formatted manuscript page; courier 12 font, double spaced, 1" margins all around).

Amazon started accepting entries at midnight Eastern time, and will continue until they receive 10,000 (stop date is 27 January).

This year, they've divided their submissions into five categories:

- General Fiction
- Romance
- Mystery/Thriller
- Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror
- Young Adult Fiction

13 February - Second Round Announcement (2,000).  Based on judging the 300-word pitches, the judges will cut the field from 10,000 to 2,000 for the Second Round.  Huge cut...and it highlights how important those 300 little words really are!


12 March - Quarterfinalists  Announced (Top 500).  Based on the 5,000-word excerpts, the judges will cut the 2,000 Second-Rounders down to determine the 500 Quarterfinalists.  Amazon customers can download, rate, and review ABNA excerpts on Amazon.com, and provide feedback to Amazon Publishing Editors.

16 April - Semifinalists Announced (Top 25).  Publishers Weekly reviews each full manuscript...and makes the cut from 500 down to 25 Semifinalists.

21 May - Finalists Announced (Top 5).  Amazon Publishing Editors pick the top entry from each of the five categories.  Each of the five finalists is guaranteed a publishing contract through Amazon, and a $15K advance on royalties.  Cool.

15 June - Grand Prize Winner Announcement.  Of the five finalists, Amazon customers vote to select the Grand Prize winner, who, instead of a $15K publishing contract, will receive a $50K publishing contract.  Really cool.

In 2011, my novel THE COMING made it to the Quarterfinals...I hope THE MENGELE EFFECT does that well during this year's contest!

2013 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award - The Pitch

In 2011, my novel THE COMING made it to the Quarterfinals round in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award (ABNA) contest (top 250 of 5,000 entries).  This year, I'm submitting my second novel, THE MENGELE EFFECT.  Below is my "pitch", which is what the judges will use to make their initial cut:

THE MENGELE EFFECT

Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror Category

The mutations begin in a Kansas City salvage yard.

Hours later, the light of day reveals a dead city, stripped of life by creatures torn from the pages of a nightmare.  On this night, the gates of Hell swing wide and release the spawn of mankind's hate to pour across the Midwest in an unstoppable, ravenous wave, slowed only by the sun's killing light.  A quiet, peaceful evening in America’s Heartland becomes—as the few remaining survivors would later recall—the last night humanity would rule the planet.

Carolyn Ridenour fights a daily battle to keep America safe from the world's tiniest, most fearsome weapons.  Ordered to Kansas City to investigate the unfolding horror, she barely escapes the creatures' nocturnal onslaught, saved at the last instant by Colonel Garrett Hoffmann, a man who'd witnessed the slaughter of hundreds of his troops—and innocent civilians—under the creatures' horrific advance.  President Andrew Smith, former Navy Admiral and battle-scarred hero, watches as city after city is literally eaten alive, the military’s conventional might useless against a swarming foe that inexplicably—and exponentially—replenishes its numbers every twenty-four hours.  Frantic for answers, the President is pushed towards the unthinkable by members of his own government…trusted advisors who have long prayed for this day, each members of an ancient order sworn to destroy civilization in order to save their own souls.

Carolyn and her team race to find a way to stop the creatures—products of perverse, decades-old genetic research performed in Auschwitz’s filthy labs, refined by Cold War enemies, and perfected by nature—before a co-opted President unleashes the fury of America's nuclear arsenal on his own soil...

And his own citizens.

###

I'll find out on 13 Feb 13 if it makes the cut.  That's a lot of 13's...hopefully, it's a LUCKY number!

THE COMING - 5-STAR Review!

My first novel, THE COMING, is available on Smashwords & Amazon for $0.99.

THE COMING is a story of a world teetering on the brink, its future resting solely on the shoulders of two young people struggling to decipher mysterious events swirling around them, racing against time to fulfill a promise once lost, and prevent the onset of an encroaching, interminable darkness—the End of Days.

 

Here's a nice review I received from Lisa Kovanda, author of "Reckless Abandon", "The Hunt" and "Cedar in Seattle": 

"Terrifying End of Days tale!  I love a book that gives me several characters in seemingly unrelated circumstances, but as the plot tightens they are all drawn together to create a climactic showdown.  Chuck's "Amazon Breakthrough Novel," quarter-finalist novel takes you on a cross-country journey and intertwines the past, present, and future.  It's not for the feint of heart, but if you like a bit of End Of Days terror, this is a book for you."

700 Downloads!

On 9 Dec 2012, I published my first flash fiction horror story, "Ripple".  30 days, 8 short stories...and just broke the 700 combined download threshold!  Woo hoo!

Here's the links:

"Ripple" (9 Dec 2012)
"Feed the Bear" (13 Dec 12)
"Table Manners" (16 Dec 12)
"Beach House" (21 Dec 12)
"Solace" (23 Dec 12)
"Legend" (28 Dec 12)
"Sluagh" (31 Dec 12)
"Spirit Board" (6 Jan 13)

"Spirit Board" Flash Fiction Horror - First 5-Star Review!

My 8th flash fiction horror story, "Spirit Board", went on-line at Smashwords.com late last night, and is sitting at 40 downloads so far.  Thanks for the nice review, Frank!

When Cassie Mattis discovers an old Ouija board at an estate sale, her life takes an unexpected—and quite terrifying—turn...

Frank Gorhau:  "Nicely written! Another great piece of work by Chuck. He manages, in a few short words, to paint an incredibly illustrative picture to the reader, and has the knack to make you almost feel what the character is feeling. In this case, I think I need to go get a sweater...The house suddenly got cold for some reason."

Six Hundred Downloads!

28 days, 7 flash fiction horror stories, 600 downloads!

"Table Manners" - 100 Downloads

My flash fiction horror story "Table Manners" has hit 100 downloads on Smashwords.com, with a couple of nice reviews:

Frank Gorhau:  "Another Outstanding short story! Takes me back to the days when I would stay up late to watch The Twilight Zone.  Of course, the down side is that I'm never going to look at restaurant fare the same way again..."

Jenny Gaines:  "I'll echo the previous reviewer- I'll probably think of this next time I go     out to eat. Good job, Chuck!"

"Beach House" Hits the Century Mark!

My flash fiction horror story "Beach House" just hit 100 downloads on Smashwords.com!  Nice reviews so far, too:

Kim Stokely:  "Wow, this was an awesome short story.  I could easily see it being made into a movie."

Jenny Gaines:  "Chuck Grossart delivers an exciting flash fiction again in Beach House!"

Frank Gorhau:  "Another outstanding short by Chuck... he always sets up what appears to be an open-and-shut situation, and inserts a masterful twist at the end.  I've become accustomed to the twists, and look forward to each of them..."

2012 - A Very Good Year! Bring On 2013!

One year ago today, I decided to take one of my novels, THE COMING, and self-publish it through Smashwords.com.  I'm glad I did...

Since that day, I also published my second novel, THE MENGELE EFFECT, and watched as they both made their way to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Diesel, the Apple Bookstore, Sony, and a couple other eBook stores.  As of today, I've sold 72 novels combined (36 of each).  No, those aren't huge numbers, but for just throwing them out there to see if anyone might read them, I'm pretty happy!  I made enough money to fill-up my Cherokee approx. one and a half times, too, so that's good... ;)

To end 2012, I decided to try my hand at writing "flash fiction"--short stories of 1,000 words or less.  In the last 23 days, I've knuckled-down and written 7 flash fiction horror stories (all between 900-1,000 words).  I really enjoy trying to cram a complete story in just a few pages, and I think I've been successful...they've been downloaded a combined total of 501 times (yes, I'm counting), with twenty-one 4 and 5-STAR ratings! (being FREE helps, but what the heck!)  Those reviews are what any writer craves...good and bad, but I sure do enjoy reading the good ones!  If you're reading this post, and you left one of those reviews, THANK YOU!

For 2013, I plan on writing more flash fiction, and concentrate on taking a few dusty (electronically speaking) novel drafts and write them as 9-10,000 word short stories instead.  I've also committed to the Nebraska Writers' Workshop to finish a short story I've let sit idle for almost a year, titled, "The Coin".  I plan on releasing it this coming March on Smashwords.com (it says so on my web page now, so I HAVE to do it!)

So, keep your eyes peeled in 2013 for more goofy horror/supernatural stories as I dig them out from the back of my misshapen bald cranium!  HAPPY NEW YEAR!