I have a few announcements today, starting with: My first ever flash fiction story, “Jokul Frosti and the Boy,” is appearing at Sommer Leigh’s wonderful blog for FREE! I’m pretty happy with this story and hope you take a moment to go read it. (And check out her blog, while you’re at it.)

For those who don’t know, flash fiction is very short fiction. I’ve seen different definitions, from 100 words to 1000 words. Sommer set the word count limit to 350 for this post (a little less than a page and a half). My writing friends will be shocked that I managed to come in under the wire. The post includes a discussion of my approach to writing the story.

Here’s another exciting announcement: I am guest posting at Wicked & Tricksy on Friday, December 22 (this week). I’ll be discussing writing with multiple viewpoints.

And yet another exciting announcement: I’m guest posting at Jaye Manus’s blog on Thursday, December 21. I’m saving the nature of that post as a surprise, mostly because I haven’t figured out what to write, yet.

And now, for the biggest announcement of all…

VALNUT: THE BINDING IS NOW AVAILABLE AT AMAZON!*

So go buy it. Right now. Then read it.

If you read (and enjoy) Valknut: The Binding and want to help spread the word, here are some simple ways to do it.

• Kidnap your friends, neighbors, coworkers, family, and the skinny, greasy-haired kid that works at the A&W. Tie them up, tape their eyelids open, and make them read the book.
• Word of mouth is the very best sales tool. However, it doesn’t work if the author is the one running around saying how great the book is. People would probably think she’s biased.
•  Post a Customer Review wherever you’ve purchased the novel. Honest reviews are appropriate.
• Agree with the tags provided at the bottom of the book’s Amazon page. You can add new ones, if you think of any that were omitted. (The tags so far are fantasy thriller, urban dark fantasy, Norse mythology, mythology, and Norse gods.)
• “Like” the book at the top of its Amazon page. Again, please don’t feel obliged to “like” the book if that would be a lie.

Tagging and “liking “ help increase the novel’s visibility at Amazon. The more people who agree with the tags, the higher the book will appear if someone searches on a tag. I’m not sure how “likes” work, but I hear they’re good for you.

The number of reviews affects whether book bloggers will read and review my novel. A reviewer doesn’t want to waste time reading and reviewing a novel that only the author’s mother loves.

These tips don’t just apply to my book. They go for any book you buy online, especially new or obscure writers who don’t get their publishing house’s love and attention. It’s a good way to help ensure your favorite authors continue to publish.

There. I’ve done my hard sell. All future references to BUY MY BOOK will be much more oblique. I’m just not a sales person at heart, which will probably keep me from becoming Stephen-King-Only-Better-Looking.  (I’m sure that’ll be the only reason.)

Available at Amazon

*If you don’t have a Kindle, never fear. You can download the Kindle app to your PC, Mac, or smart phone. Find the Kindle app download here. Once the app is loaded, click on the new Kindle icon on your desktop, laptop, or phone. Once your Kindle window is open, you can click on “Shop at the Kindle Store.” When you make your purchase (you’ll need an Amazon account), the book will be sent directly to your Kindle software and you can start reading. If you can’t figure it out, then contact me. (You got all that, Mom?)