#FirstLineFriday #Giveaway – #FreeDownloads

August 2, 2019August 1, 2019 / Marcia Meara / 11 Comments

It’s time for our 3rd #FirstLineFriday Trivia Quiz, and I’m going to try to do this as simply and neatly as possible. You may refer to the Rules in the Black header bar at the top of the page if you have questions on how this works. The most important thing is please do NOT post your answer on this blog where others can see. Email me instead. marciameara16@gmail.com

The first five emails I receive giving me the correrct title and author of the book quoted below will win! Easy as pie! Winners will receive a free download of one of my books for themselves or someone of their choice. (If they prefer, I’ll add them to a list to receive a free download of the next book I publish, instead.)

I know last week’s first line turned out to be even harder than I expected, so I’m going easier on you guys today. MUCH easier. 🙂 No more clues, though. Those resulted in too much cross-posting. If you don’t know this week’s answer, just try again next week. I plan to be doing this for a long time, and you’re sure to win now and then. 😀

Remember, honor system applies. No Googling, please. THANKS!

Now, are you ready for what will surely be much more familiar to many of you? Well, here you go then, and good luck!

“When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow.”

#FirstLineFriday Trivia Quiz is Now Closed to Submissions, and the #Winners Are …

July 26, 2019 / Marcia Meara / 19 Comments

Okay, folks. It’s all over but the accolades! This one turned out to be even harder than I expected, but we had two winners: Mae Clair and Robbie Cheadle. Congratulations to them on winning a download of one of my books for themselves or someone else of their choice, or a credit for a free download of my next book.

For future contests, I need to remind you folks NOT TO RESPOND IN THE COMMENTS OF ANY POST ON THE BLOG. Please email me only! (If you respond publicly, others see the answer and the contest is spoiled.) Thanks so much for adhering to that rule.

I promise to go easy on you next Friday with an opening line that won’t be quite as much of a challenge, but for this week, here’s your answer.

“The cold passed reluctantly from the earth, and the retiring fogs revealed an army stretched out on the hills, resting.”

Answer: This is the first line of Stephen Crane’s classic American Civil War novel, The Red Badge of Courage. Lest you think I was giving those in the U.S. an edge, it was also made into an internationally acclaimed film in 1951, starring Audie Murphy, and remade as a successful TV movie in 1974, starring Richard Thomas of The Waltons.

Because it was an older book than even Fahrenheit 451, I knew it would be a bit more difficult, but I didn’t expect it to be quite as hard as it was. It is, after all, still being sold in bookstores and on Amazon, and I believe there are audio books out as well. It’s also still being studied in some college courses. See? Classic. 🙂

I DO promise to make next week’s quiz a bit easier on your gray cells, honest. And thanks for playing today. Hopefully #FirstLineFriday 3 just might be the one that makes you smile.

BLURB:

Amid the nightmarish chaos of a Civil War battle, a young soldier discovers courage, humility, and, perhaps, wisdom. Uncanny re-creation of actual combat. Enduring landmark of American fiction.

BUY THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE HERE

#FirstLineFriday Submissions are Now Closed & We Have Winners!!

July 19, 2019July 20, 2019 / Marcia Meara / 20 Comments

Wow, it has been interesting seeing how my new idea worked for today’s trial run, and I’ve already made a list of ways it can be better by next Friday. A tweak here or there will make it smoother on both your end and on mine. I will be posting mid-week to let everyone know how it’s going to work going forward, so you can all mark your calendars. That way, you’ll not miss out on getting your answers to me. More on this later. But not to worry. I really want to make this a fun thing each week, and I WILL figure out the best way to do that, so no one misses out.

Thanks for the great response so far. Our winners are: Harmony Kent, Staci Troilo, Jeanne Owens, Deborah Jay, and Bill Engelson. Jeanne, Debby, and Bill, email me with your book of choice, and let me know if you want it sent to you, or to someone else.

THANKS so much for playing. Have a nice night, everyone!

Huh? What’s that? Some of you would like to know the answer??? 😀 Okay. I suppose I can give you that. 😀

*ahem* “It was a pleasure to burn” is the opening line of Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. One of my favorite authors, btw, and a most excellent book. 🙂

Next week’s challenge might be harder. It might be easier. Depends on which one I pick. The post will go live at 8:00am, and submissions will close at noon, which I think makes it 1:00pm to 5:00pm in the U.K. Mark your calendars. And keep an eye out for a mid-week post with more details. Got some ideas for ways to make it all even more fun.

Stay tuned for more, and whatever you do, don’t touch that dial! 😀

#FirstLineFriday is Still Open for Submissions

July 19, 2019 / Marcia Meara / 4 Comments

Either my selection today was harder than I thought, or you guys figure you’ve already missed out. If it’s that second one, let me reassure you, you still have chances to win a free download for yourself or a friend. If you know the answer, email me at marciameara16@gmail.com. The lines are open! (I always wanted to say that. 😀 )

Coming Soon: New #WeeklyGiveaway Contest. #WinFreeDownloads

July 14, 2019 / Marcia Meara / 17 Comments

Been thinking of a way to set up a contest on The Write Stuff that would be a little bit different, while not taking hours and hours to put together each week, and I think I’ve got it! But you’ll have to be patient to learn more. All I can say is, starting this Friday, July 19, I will be running a weekly contest that I hope will be fun and entertaining, and will result in some of you guys winning a free download of one of my books, your choice, of course.

Sound like something you might enjoy? Well, stay tuned for full details on Friday! I can say no more! 😀

#FreePromo – “Songs of Heartstrings” by Miriam Hurdle

March 7, 2019March 7, 2019 / Marcia Meara / 10 Comments

Miriam would like to let everyone know about her current promo. Hope you’ll take advantage and pass the word along. Best wishes for a successful promotion, Miriam.

FREE * FREE * FREE

“Songs of Heartstrings” is FREE for the next few days. This poetic memoir contains prose and poems, as well as photos and paintings. Please grab your copy and share!

AMAZON UNIVERSAL LINK: smarturl.it/SongsofHeartstrings
AMAZON UK LINK: www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07K1S47W9
AMAZON .COM LINK: www.amazon.com/dp/B07K1S47W9

DSM Publications – News From Don Massenzio & a Free Book Offer

May 3, 2018May 3, 2018 / Marcia Meara / 18 Comments

An Exciting New Venture

Services for Indie Authors

(NOTE: So happy to share this news from Don Massenzio, introducing his new editing and formatting business. Hope you’ll all keep him in mind for your editing needs, and will share this news with your friends. Thanks!)

DSM Publications offers Editing and Formatting services to Indie Authors with advice and networking with other authors.

As Indie Authors, we are all in this together. Every day we make gains on the traditional publishing market.

One of the ways that we can accomplish even more is by making sure that the work we produce is of the highest quality possible to help alleviate the stigma that has been cast upon us by the traditional publishing world.

It has been my mission to help other indie authors realize a high level of quality while alleviating the tedious tasks of editing and formatting by sharing the experience I have picked up along the way. I’ve done this, for the past three years, through informative posts on my blog, promotion of author books and over 200 author interviews. I will continue to do these things on my author web site, but now I’m taking it one step further.

I am so excited to launch this new venture. Throughout my career, I have enjoyed editing documents and making them look professional. I have been working with word processing programs since the old Xerox XPS WYSIWYG system of the 1980s through Multimate, Word Perfect and Microsoft Word.

The thrill of seeing a document come together and look like something professional never gets old for me. Whether it’s my own book or one that I help another author finalize, I take a great deal of pride in producing that finished product.

That is why I’m so excited to officially launch DSM Publications as a service provider for authors. I know the struggles and challenges that Independently Published authors face because I am one. With 10 published books, so far, I’ve made nearly every mistake as I’ve learned the steps necessary to create a final product that I’m proud of.

I’ve collected all of this experience, along with my decades of editing business publications, into a process that is repeatable and efficient.

I want to help my fellow authors reach a level of quality that will make them proud of their work and put it on equal footing with the product coming from the traditional publishing path.

I hope some of you will consider joining me as I launch this venture. I’ve been editing books for others as I prepare for fully committing to this business. I feel like I’m ready to jump in with both feet.

My goal with DSM Publications is to offer cafeteria-style services to indie authors at a reasonable price.

I truly enjoy this kind of work while I help you on your writing journey.

I hope you’ll help me make this new venture a success.

Stop over to the DSM Publications web site and check out my services and rates.

Special Offer

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If you sign up for my DSM Publications Newsletter, you’ll receive a free copy of my book, The Ultimate Guide for Independently Published Authors. You can sign up for my newsletter by clicking HERE.

#Free Book #Kindle Promo – Conflicted Hearts by D. G. Kaye

September 20, 2016 / Marcia Meara / 14 Comments

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Check out this bargain, folks! Deb’s book, Conflicted Hearts, is FREE through 9/23. Yep. FREE! It doesn’t get better than that! Go here to learn more:

#Free Book #Kindle Promo – Conflicted Hearts