Tuesday, August 25, 2015

And All Across The World...



Do you know what I find fascinating?

I look from time to time at the statistics for my website. I have the very basic statistics format available – it only tells me in what city and country a visitor to my website resides.

I’ve had visitors from all across the United States: Illinois, California, New York, Iowa, Virginia, Minnesota…well, you get the idea. And cities like The Bronx, Matteson, New York City, Pinson, Boone, Ackworth, Riverside, and Santa Cruz.

I’ve had visitors from China, England, Thailand, Portugal, Brazil, The Netherlands, Australia, and Canada.

I had one today from Tel Aviv, Israel. Whoever you were, thank you! You were my first Israeli visitor! Welcome!

The visitor from Tel Aviv fired up my mind. How wonderful it is that a simple writer in a small town in Tennessee can find fans as far-flung as the countries that I’ve listed. I certainly hope that all of those folks across the globe have had a chance to read one of my stories, and I hope they have enjoyed the story (or stories) that they read. It is a humbling thing to realize how much one’s writing influences people. Especially people that I’ve never met, and may never have the chance to meet.

When something so simple as a story or novel can bring fans together all across this tiny globe of ours, it makes me wonder how can wars begin, and why people can’t simply accept the differences of others.

Once you get past the stereotypes of various ethnic groups, or fellow countrymen, you’ll find that most people are the same. We all have the same needs and desires: food, shelter, good drinking water, safety for our children…the list goes on.

So, in short, people are mostly the same all across the globe. Our religions may differ, our skin tones might vary in hue, but we all bleed red.

Sometimes, people get so wrapped up in whatever fervor that might grip them, they forget that fact. They might fall into the hype of those people hate me because I believe this or those [fill in your choice ethnicity or nationality] are all alike.

No, they’re not.

And neither are you. Or you. Or you. Or me.

But, when one small writer can unite people across the world in just welcoming them in visiting a website, that shows me that more could be done to bring people together. If I can do it with my simple stories, imagine what else everyone can find in common...and everyone can rejoice in the differences. We're people, and overcoming the differences...the hype...the stereotypes...and the hatred can be done.

 By you. And you. Oh, and you over there, too. And me.

Thank you, one and all, for reading my work.

And, thank you for visiting my website.

I also invite you to…

Keep reading!

T. M. Bilderback (But you can call me Michael)

Visit my website: www.tmbilderback.com

Follow me on Twitter:  @mrtmbilderback

Check me out on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/TMBilderback

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Countdowns And Stories And Deals, Oh, My!



Everybody likes a good deal. You like ‘em, I like ‘em…they’re great!

So, right now, there’s a Kindle Countdown Deal happening, and my book, Empty Eyes, is the deal. Now through August 16th, you can pick up your very own copy of Empty Eyes for only 99¢!

Now, that’s either a great deal for you, or it’s the booby prize in your eBook collection.

Talking about Kindle Countdown Deals…that’s one of the better reasons for going back to Amazon exclusivity. I can run deals on my books, and you get the benefits!

And, of course, Empty Eyes, along with all of my stories, are free to read with your Kindle Unlimited subscription. I invite all of you to subscribe, and take advantage of all the books that you won’t find anywhere else! Mine are there, my friends Tracy Sharp and Silas Payton are there, and so is the big man himself, J. A. Konrath. Also, Barry Eisler, Scott Nicholson, and Amanda M. Lee all have books in Kindle Unlimited. If you read on a budget, and want to read stories by authors that aren’t available anywhere else, KU is for you!

One story, however, is NOT included in Kindle Unlimited, and that's The Night Chicago Died - A Jack Daniels/Justice Security Novel. It's in J. A. Konrath's Jack Daniels And Associates Kindle World, and not part of KU right now.

Now, back to Empty Eyes…here is the synopsis of the story:

Paul Stiles is spending his Saturday morning mowing his lawn, when his next door neighbor dies a peculiar and spectacular death on Paul’s front lawn. Paul knows something terrifying is happening, but he doesn’t realize that it’s the beginning of a war of survival for humanity.

Islamic terrorists have paid rogue Russian scientists to create a plague of genetically created “bugs”, and have turned them loose on the free world, intending to kill the “infidels” of the world. But they didn’t take into account the unintended repercussions of these new creatures, like rapid breeding, or massive growth, or…using humans as both food and reproductive incubators.

As the world is quickly taken over by these “bugs”, Paul leads a group of survivors into the Rocky mountains, hoping against hope to find a way to combat the creatures…as long as they can stay away from those that have empty eyes.

But will that be enough to save humanity?

Find out in T. M. Bilderback’s first non-song-inspired novel,
Empty Eyes.”


One reviewer says that the story screams for a sequel. I had never intended to write another Empty story, but I just might…if I can get some of this other stuff that I’m working on off of my plate. So many stories, so little time…

In the meantime, pick up your copy of Empty Eyes while it’s on sale for 99¢. Or, read it for free with Kindle Unlimited. Either way, click here, grab a copy, and…

Keep reading!

T. M. Bilderback (But you can call me Michael)

Visit my website: www.tmbilderback.com

Follow me on Twitter:  @mrtmbilderback

Check me out on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/TMBilderback

Thursday, August 6, 2015

Psst...Hey...You Wanna Buy One 'A Dese?



I read and actually participated in a thread on a discussion board that sparked my imagination.

The originator of the thread rents table space, and sells print copies of independent author books in a high-traffic tourist area. He was interested in any authors that might consider letting him either buy copies cheap enough to give a discount, or if they would consider consignment.

Well, consignment was dismissed immediately, because of the headaches involved with tax laws, book conditions, etc.

However, another author came up with a fantastic idea. She said that since most indie books are published through Amazon’s CreateSpace on-demand publishing, we could offer the would-be vendor a deal using discount codes. With a 40%-off discount code, the vendor could purchase all the books he wanted to offer on his table, and sell them for whatever price he wanted without our involvement.

I, for one, immediately sent this vendor a private message, gave him the code for 40% of my print editions, and also gave him the link to my work at the CreateSpace store. The codes will only work at the CreateSpace site, and provides a deep discount for anyone interested in selling print books.

My imagination got sparked by this idea, and I thought that I would offer it to anybody out there interested in selling my print titles. Maybe you have a booth in a flea market, or a vendor table at some touristy place like Venice Beach or New Orleans. I’ll offer you the same deal.

My single novels have a list price of $14.99.  A discount of 40% means that each novel would cost you about $8.99. Of course, you would have to pay shipping to have the book delivered to you, but you divide that cost between each copy of the book you purchase, and there’s your item cost. You then can charge whatever you want to so that you could recoup your investment.

Keep in mind, if you have a brand-new print copy of a novel lying on the table in front of your potential customer, it would be mostly an impulse purchase…especially in touristy areas.

Interested? Contact me.

You can reach my here, in the comments section. You can message me through my FaceBook page at the link below. You can DM or Tweet me on Twitter – also linked below. Or, you can go to my website, listed below, and talk to me through the “Contact Me” section.

When I hear from you, I’ll send you the discount code and the link to my print books at the CreateSpace store.

I like this idea, and I hope you do, too. Mostly, I hope you…

Keep reading!

T. M. Bilderback (But you can call me Michael)

Visit my website: www.tmbilderback.com

Follow me on Twitter:  @mrtmbilderback

Check me out on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/TMBilderback

Saturday, August 1, 2015

The Breeze



Something different for this post…just for you!

The Breeze

The young woman faced into the wind. Her brown hair moved like a living thing in the breeze. It trailed out behind her, and molded itself along the sides of her head, as the breeze shaped her hair into a freehand style that she had never conceived in front of a mirror.

She closed her eyes as the breeze floated around her face. She smiled lightly, enjoying the feel of the wind. It moved along her face like a lover’s caress, and felt wonderful to her tired body.

The woman raised her arms, seemingly to welcome the breeze. The wind appeared to increase in strength the higher she lifted her arms.

Her light summer dress was pressed against her body by the breeze, and outlined her. It left little to the imagination.

The light, coming from the horizon, grew brighter against her skin even as the breeze grew stronger. Its red light warmed her skin. The light grew stronger, until it became painful, and the breeze grew so strong that she could barely stand.

Finally, the light intensified with an unheard-of abruptness. The young woman’s hair caught fire, and her skin blackened. It happened so quickly that she didn’t realize it was happening. Both skin and hair turned to ash, and blew away in the powerful breeze. Finally, her bones burned and turned to ash, and the young woman had been blown away in the strong breeze that had been pushed away from the mushroom cloud on the horizon.
            ©2015 T. M. Bilderback


How’s that? I hope it brightened your Saturday, and I hope that it teased you into wanting to read more of my work! It’s all at Amazon, and don’t forget: you can read it for free with Kindle Unlimited! Click HERE for my Author Page, and take a look!

And, do me a favor, will you?

Keep reading!

T. M. Bilderback (But you can call me Michael)

Visit my website: www.tmbilderback.com

Follow me on Twitter:  @mrtmbilderback

Check me out on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/TMBilderback