Sample Sunday -- Dream Smashers

Autumn meets Rainy from Chapter 12
Dream Smashers by Angela Carlie -- all rights reserved
Available as an eBook for only $2.99 and paperback for only $11

Our meeting was just one of those things that happened. On the first day of kindergarten Gramps stood next to me at the corner, waiting for the bus. He held my lunch box and backpack for me until the bus squeaked and then psshed to a stop. It seemed like a giant banana until the doors opened, and then it seemed like a jungle. All kinds of noise escaped from those opened doors, none of it sounding the least bit safe. Screeches, giddy laughter, yelling, crying, sneezing, coughing, all struck me as terrifying and crazy.

Gramps nudged me toward the gaping mouth of the bus. I tried to stay brave while he threaded my arms through the backpack straps and handed me my lunch box. “Chin up, kiddo. You’re going to meet some of the best friends of your life on this bus.” He winked at me, giving me superhero strength.

I climbed up the stairs, turning at the top to wave at him before the doors slammed shut. I found a seat next to a window and held the fire behind my eyes and down my throat from escaping. The bus moved forward.

Two houses down, a girl my age with a sprinkler of hair plopped on top of her head, scurried from a house. Her arms flapped like wings, signaling the bus to stop.

Air somehow forced itself over my vocal chords and out my mouth. “Stop!”

The driver jerked the bus to a stop and opened the doors.

The girl, out of breath, slapped her body down next to me. “That was close!” She opened her lunch box, the very same lunch box that I held on my lap—a pink plastic Barbie box. Her box didn’t hold items of nourishment though. Instead it held glittery lip balms of every flavor imaginable. Grams never had the extra money to buy me lip balms when I asked each week at the grocery store. And the girl had an entire lunch box full. We’ve been friends forever since that day.

It's Officiallly Official

Marketing. Not my forte.

I knew this going into the do-it-yourself world of publishing, but thought that maybe this time the sky would open up and beam down a magnificent light upon my epic-like novel, Dream Smashers. Maybe it will. Someday.

Zero sales in four days equals frowny face on Angela's head. Is that normal? What should I do? I can't keep saying, "Hey, lookie here. A rad novel for only $2.99." People get tired of hearing it.

I've had a few reviewers review it and it garnered some lovely reviews of four and five stars. (I just said review three times in the same sentence) Well, mostly four stars, but I'm taking into consideration that I didn't know a single one of those reviewers. Not one. I simply asked them to review it. I didn't smoosh them and say super-nice things about them. I didn't rub their shoulders or become BFF's with them, so I think the four star reviews shine brighter for me. I'm very thankful for them.

I need to write. So that's what I'm going to be concentrating on from now on. The marketing thing, or whatever people call it, will happen, too. I'm just not going to spend every minute of the day trying to do it. With time, word will get around that Angela is legit down to her spit and won't fluff your feathers for a sale. She's already worked her booty off creating a novel to entertain you. So buy it and enjoy it and give it an honest review. She'll be thankful and that's it. Maybe someday she can hire someone to do all the bullshitting for her. That would be rad!

Peace out for now.

PS -- Land of Corn Chips, a middle grade novel, will be out on June 6th. The cover art is done and it is SUPER AWESOME. I can't wait to share it with the world on April 29th. Don't ask me why you have to wait until April 29th. It's just a day that I threw out. Which is weird because I'm usually an impulsive person who plans absolutely nothing. But this, this is planned and it shall remain that way. I think. Oh, did I mention how AMAZING the cover is for Land of Corn Chips? Am I a walking contradiction or what? Okay, back to the writing.