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Quantum Crystal by Rob Shackleford

Quantum Crystal

Is humanity evolving?

Today, millions suffer from Traumatic Brain Injury and Post-Traumatic Stress due to warfare, car accidents and violence.

In response to this global epidemic, pioneering medical researchers develop a new treatment that is seen to produce outstanding results. Dubbed the ‘Quantum Crystal’, the treatment is soon rolled out for many of the maladies that affect modern humanity.

But is this treatment all it is purported to be, or are deeper changes under way?

‘Quantum Crystal’ examines the efforts of victim support group, The Staff, to rollout the Quantum Crystal to a deeply divided humanity and the inevitable violent opposition to change.

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Author Bio Two

An English-born Australian, Rob Shackleford has lived in New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, with a varied career that has included Customs Officer, Scuba Instructor, College Teacher and management roles in too many places.

With degrees in the Arts and Business, he is mad keen on travel, Scuba diving, Family History, martial arts, astronomy, and playing Djembe and Congas. Despite that, he is actually not that boring. Rob is father of two and has made his green escape with his lovely lady into Australia’s Gold Coast hinterland.   

Other Books by Rob Shackleford

Traveller Trilogy

Traveller Inceptio

If you were sent a thousand years into the past, would you survive?

After the accidental development of the Transporter, university researchers determine that the device sends any subject one thousand years into the past.

Or is it into a possible past?

The enigmatic Transporter soon becomes known as a Time Machine, but with limitations.

An audacious research project is devised to use the Transporter to investigate Medieval Saxon England, when a crack international team of Special Services soldiers undergo intensive training for their role as historical researchers.

The special researchers, called Travellers, are to be sent into what is a very dangerous period in England’s turbulent past.

From the beaches of Australia to the forests of Saxon England, Traveller – Inceptio reveals how Travellers soon learn that they need more than refined combat skills and modern technology to survive the trails of early 11th Century life. First Two Chapters here …

Writing “Traveller – Inceptio”

“Traveller – Inceptio” is my first novel and, like any first novel, is the result of years of writing, rewriting, editing, and then leaving it to sit and mature, or rather for me to mature, so I could go back and write new chapters and make adjustments. Originally titles “Traveller”, Traveller – Inceptio was rebranded to make the book name stand out more.

To keep the historical components accurate I had to engage in considerable research. In so doing I have tried not to become too engrossed in the historical minutiae of Saxon or Gabi Gabi Aboriginal life but have attempted to look at what it was like to be a person living there and then. If I have made errors, these are a lapse in my research or understanding and are not meant to be malicious or lazy. I welcome scholarly and cultural input and corrections so I can better understand the rich tapestry of human history where I dip my toes on occasion.

While writing Traveller I have the deepest gratitude for friends and family for their encouragement, input, and correcting my many spelling and grammatical errors. The inspiration for Traveller came when I was sitting on a beach one day and observing the many resorts that proliferate around Australian beaches. Thinking how the world has changed over twenty years then led to speculation of changes over the past two hundred years since the European settlement of Australia. So – why not 1000 years? The world was such a different place.

The cover is an image of a Saxon saex or knife as created by Artist Blacksmith and Bladesmith Owen Bush of Kent in England. I am grateful for his generosity in permitting the use of his image. View his impressive work at http://owenbush.co.uk/  

To describe the attempt to professionalise the writing process, this book has been physically published, professionally edited, rewritten and shortened, republished in electronic format, and recently proofread. Phew!

I hope you find Traveller Inceptio to be an enjoyable read. 

Traveller Inceptio eBook Links:

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Barnes & Noble

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Traveller Probo 

Traveller – Probo is the inevitable sequel to Traveller Inceptio and the second of the Traveller series.

Traveller Probo

Would you survive if sent one-thousand years into the past?

Development of the Transporter saw highly trained researchers, called Travellers, successfully sent one-thousand years back in time to early medieval Saxon England.

Traveller Missions now mean enormous national prestige and the recovery of valuable lost artefacts and knowledge, so nations vie for the use of the Transporter and more daring Traveller missions are planned.

As the study of History becomes hotly contested, politics and power soon come into play.

To study lost peoples and civilizations, Special Forces researchers have to be even better trained, better equipped, and prepared to put their lives on the line.

While Michael Hunter continues to build a life in Saxon England, the tragically injured Tony Osborne finds his resurgence in a mission to ancient Turkey, and Professor Adrian Taylor seeks to better outmanoeuvre his contentious colleagues.

From the misty shores of New Zealand to the shining splendour of the ancient Byzantine Empire, it is soon learned that sending modern researchers into the past is not without its rewards, and pitfalls.

Traveller Probo eBook Links:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Kobo

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Traveller Manifesto 

Traveller – Manifesto is the final novel for the Traveller Series.

Traveller Manifesto

Traveller Manifesto is Book 3 of the Traveller Trilogy, the explosive final sequel to Traveller Inceptio and Traveller Probo.

To use the enigmatic Transporter and send Special Forces trained Researchers back a thousand years is now the biggest game in world politics.

But not only politics, as academics scramble to outdo each other and harness prestige in the increasingly influential field of History.

As Professor Taylor is rescued from Byzantine Rome, a heavily-armed US Traveller team explores Mississippian Cahokia to experience a situation beyond even their control. Michael Hunter and Tatae flee Giolgrave in the hope of finding safety from modern interference. But at a terrible cost.

And something seems to be happening in Israel, resulting in the creation of a high-profile investigation team to uncover if there is a clandestine Traveller mission operated by the US and Israel.

From the windswept mountains of Wales, to the hills of Cahokia and the dusty wadis of the Negev, researchers find that to visit the past may not necessarily provide the answers they seek.

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More about writing the Traveller Series

When we examine the history of humanity one thousand years in the past we find many human populations were experiencing massive change and population migration. Migration meant populations coming into contact and the inevitability of violent conflict. This resulted in the extinction of cultures and races.

The people of the time were often not people we of the 21st Century would like to visit. Over a surprisingly wide segment of the globe, any strangers risked becoming victims of cannibalism or ritual sacrifice. The Pacific, the Americas, Africa, and indeed many locations would be just too dangerous for a 21st Century researcher to visit.

 

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Publishing Confusion – Part Two. Author Brand

Author Brand! What is it?

Who likes Nike, Adidas? Who’s your favourite Movie Star, Poet, Author?  The first two are BRANDS which people love. The Second are people who can be turned into BRANDS and generally are. So, how do they do this? What does it mean to have a BRAND

If you get a big enough BRAND you can sponsor others, the same way Nike and Adidas do. They are MARKETING MACHINES, but how did they do it? How did they get so big and noticeable? It’s a bit of give and take. The big businesses sponsor the big names in sports and movies. If a movie star loves the shoes, clothes, drink…whatever the business sell, then the public will buy and support the person being sponsored which in itself supports the MARKETING MACHINE. It continually circles around, making money. 

As authors and publishers we need to do something similar. The trouble is getting your foot in the door. How is this achieved. Well it’s time to ask some of the Independent Authors who’ve made a success of their books. There is one lady I know you’d all love to chat with. Sadly she is busy heading for a deadline right now though Jami Albright has given me permission to share how she went about her first book launch, which also shows how she used her BRAND to her advantage.

Find Jami’s Podcast HERE. Other details are below. This Podcast is mainly about a Book Launch, though it shows the process she went through to get SALES and REVIEWS, both an important part of how we use our AUTHOR BRAND.

 

This article was written by Jami Albright in 2017. Jami has since released another three books in her series.

The minute you decide to sell your book it stops being your baby and becomes a product. A product that needs to be launched into the world. Which, frankly, is a dubious task when you consider that there are millions of books on Amazon alone, not to mention the other platforms such as, Kobo, Apple iBooks, Google Play, and Barnes & Noble’s Nook.

Did you hear me, people? Millions!

So how do you launch your book so it will sell, but also stay sticky in the Amazon rankings and therefore, continue to sell? We have to have a plan. A launch plan.

On April 11, 2017, I released the first book in my Brides on the Run series into the top 3000 in the Amazon paid store and had 50 reviews within the first three days. Eleven weeks later (as of this writing) my book is still ranked in the top 5000 and has over 200 reviews. It’s sold 1100 copies, and has 700K pages read in Kindle Select/Kindle Unlimited.

My little book has made over $5000, y’all! (I’m a Texan. We’re excitable.)

When I was asked to write this article about my book launch, my first thought was, Surely, there’s someone more qualified than me to talk about this subject? Because, while I’ve done well, other indie authors are knocking it out of the park with their numbers. But like most of you, I’m a part-time writer with family responsibilities, and a day job, who’s doing everything I can to figure out this indie publishing thing. What I’m trying to say: If I can do it, you can do it.

My launch plan began months before I put my book on Amazon. I started by understanding my genre and making sure my book met the expectations and conventions of that category. How did I do that? I read books like the ones I wanted to write. I familiarized myself with the tried and true tropes that readers want, and then worked very hard to make sure I delivered on those expectations. You can choose to write outside of the parameters of a genre, but know that you are going out on a limb to do it. And you might find yourself alone on that limb with your determination to be unique and no audience. Readers come to a genre knowing what they want. If you disappoint them because you decide to break convention, they will not be happy. They’ll then share their displeasure by leaving a nasty review.

The same is true of covers. When choosing a cover for your book, check out the top one-hundred best sellers in your genre. Are there themes, colors, and fonts that are used to signal that the book is a YA fantasy or a cozy mystery? I’m not telling you to copy those covers, but you should use them as guidelines for your own design.

I write romantic comedy. In the rom-com sub-genre there are three camps as far as covers go. One camp is full of sexy, shirtless guys. The second is illustrated covers with quirky characters, and third features women in flirty skirts, that only show their legs. My book didn’t fall neatly into any of those styles. It’s kind of a combination of all of them. It took several iterations, but I came up with a compromise that I think works. It’s flirty, quirky and sexy, just like my book.

A reader should be able to look at your cover and tell immediately what kind of book it is. If your cover and your content don’t match, then you’ve confused the reader. And a confused reader is one that moves on to the next book by another author.

In addition to a great cover, you also want a blurb or book description that hooks the reader. If you don’t know how to write good copy, learn, or pay someone to do that task for you. Bryan Cohen’s How to Write a Sizzling Synopsis is an excellent resource on the subject. If done well your cover and blurb can sell your book for you.

Before we move on, one more quick word about covers. Put down the mouse and step away from Photoshop. Now! You should not be making your own covers unless you have an extensive background in graphic design. There, I said it. Someone had to.

Hire a professional cover artist. A good cover can cost as little as $25 for a pre-made all the way up to $3000 for an artist commissioned cover. Mine cost me $200, it would’ve been less, but much to my designer’s annoyance, I kept changing my mind. The two most important things you will spend money on are the cover and editing. You should have someone other than your mother or your high school English teacher edit your books. You need a professional editor. Period.

I know these things cost a lot of money, and if you’re like me, that money isn’t in your budget. But it’s important, so important that I worked odd jobs to make extra cash and, ultimately, sold plasma to pay for it all. Was it hard to travel thirty minutes to an unfamiliar part of town, sit for hours in a small room filled with people I didn’t know, and get stuck with a needle twice a week? Yes. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. I have a book I’m proud of. A book that looks professional on the inside and out. A book I paid for with actual blood, sweat, and tears. Damn right, I’d do it again.

Now that I’m off my do whatever you have to do soapbox, I should say that you can sometimes barter with an editor to get the services you need. Or find a graphic design student that has experience and wants to build their portfolio. Or just wait and save up until you have the money.

I know you want your book out yesterday, but we’re playing the long game. Smart, professional authors don’t rush something to market that isn’t ready because it will hurt them in the long run.

To re-cap, we need to know our genre expectations, have a fantastic cover that we don’t make ourselves, a well-written blurb that hooks readers, and professional editing and formatting.

Finally, I can’t encourage you enough to get involved with the indie community. Once I realized that indie publishing was the route I wanted to take, I immersed myself in learning everything I could about the business of self-publishing. I listened to podcasts, I got involved with Facebook groups geared toward publishing and marketing, I went to the Smarter Artists Summit, and I tried my best to be a good community member and make meaningful connections with other indie authors. Little did I know how those connections would be a driving forces behind my successful launch.

In the beginning, I had very little to offer other writers other than encouragement. I could share posts, give moral support and be a friend. So can you. It requires a little effort, imagination, and courage, all things you have because you’re a writer.

How do you feel? Do you think you’re ready to release your baby… um… product into the world?

Jami Albright

Running From A Rock Star
www.jamialbright.com
jamialbright1@gmail.com


Please continue to read our blogs for the processes about Author Brand and Book Launches, and please remember the first step to building your book is RESEARCH

Our next article will cover Social Media and Website Building. What to expect, what you need to do and learn. Much of this also depends on your budget. Can you afford it or are you willing to LEARN what’s needed to get your BRAND working for YOU.

 

How To: Find and Set up Share Tabs on WordPress

Yes I know there are tutorial for WordPress about how to use and improve your websites & blogs (especially for beginners. The tutorials are brilliant and informative. It is a great place to start your journey. Here is a tutorial link to various things you may want to learn

http://www.wpbeginner.com/category/wp-tutorials/

However. I keep getting asked how to do various things on wordpress, or I assist where I can depending on what I know.  Like everyone else I am still learning due to technology changing and updating.

This post is about Share Tabs…How I sorted mine out prior to knowing about wpbeginner.

SHARE TABS

Everything you do on your wordpress site starts with your HOME PAGE – Whatever name you call it. Mine is PACKAGES. This is also called your LANDING PAGE so it needs to be impressive.

Up on the top left hand side you can see the words MY SITES. Click on this and it will open a panel on the left side as shown below.

This is what you will find. Here you can check your Stats, look over your Site Pages, Customize and so much more. 

Scroll down to the bottom of this bar and you will find WP ADMIN. Click on this and it will take you to another page. Also note on the main page you can see all my share tabs for viewers to use.

This time you will find yourself on your DASHBOARD – Behind the scenes of your website where only you and those you give permission to can visit. Once you get to this page, you can do all the different things you wish to show on your website. Trial and error is part of the learning curve.

Click on SETTINGS  and a new small black box will appear.

This time we want SHARING so we can sort out the tab we wish to make available to our visitors.

The next three slides show you what is available to use and how to move the tabs so they show up where you wish them too.  Drag and drop, choose the style and choose where you wish them to show

DON’T FORGET THE REBLOG TAB. THIS IS HOW YOU CAN EXTEND YOUR REACH AND GET MORE FOLLOWERS.

IF YOU WISH ANY OTHER QUICK TUTORIALS TELL ME WHICH ONES AND I’LL GIVE IT A GO.