Realized yesterday that July was over (duh) and I had completely forgotten at least three birthdays during July, if not more. That's July for me.
For me, the month of July is like the hours between 3 and 5 p.m. on any given day. I know they're there. I see them coming. I know that unless I fight it with all my might, my body will become a sluggish bunch of goo at that time. Anything you tell me, I will forget. My brain will slow down and go into sleep mode. And if I do happen to sleep, when I wake up I'll look around and wonder where the two hours went and what a waste of time and I could have been getting so much done....
That's what July is like for me. I saw it coming. I knew I'd probably have little or no paying work coming in. I knew I'd forget everyone's birthday unless it was posted on Facebook. I knew I'd feel like I'd slept through the entire month once I hit August. I tried to prepare for it, yet here I am, realizing once again that I forgot Pye's birthday, my cousin's birthday and a friend's birthday. *sigh*
In a perfect world, I'd be able to save up enough money throughout the rest of the year to take July off completely. Maybe grab the cat and go rent a cabin or something someplace. Oh well.
So, hello August! Good to see you! Let's see about getting some things done.
On that note, a year ago in August 2012 my novella, Needs Must When the Devil Drives came out through Sam's Dot Publishing. And I still have some copies here. So I thought I might see what I could do to find a home for one or two of them.
A year before that, in June of 2011, my novella The G.O.D. Factor came out through Sam's Dot Publishing. Still have some copies of those. Also could find a home for a couple.
A lot of changes have happened over at Sam's Dot Publishing since these books were published, and where exactly to get these was a musical chair shuffle for a little while. White Cat Publications, Alban Lake Publishing and Sam's Dot Publishing all seem to have listings for Needs Must When the Devil Drives, while The G.O.D. Factor seems to be only with Sam's Dot Publishing and Alban Lake Publishing. And then I think Smashwords.com and Amazon.com both have ebooks available. But you can always contact me for copies if you're a little confused or go here.
But you can always get The Holly and the Ivan, Rae's Bar & Bistro, and Uncommon Faire: A Fiction Sideshow through Lulu.com and Amazon.com.
In the mean time, if things are a little tight for you financially, but you've always wanted to read one of the above five books, then I'll make you a deal for the lovely month of August. Hot deal. But it means you're going to have to do some work and be creative.
I want a 150 words - essay, story, logic proof, on the one book you'd like the most of the above. You can tell me why you want it. You can tell me a story about it (fiction or nonfiction), you can set up a logical argument for why you deserve it, you can even write what you think the story is (since I'm assuming you haven't read it yet) and make it completely different. Or write me your own story but my novella or book only makes a cameo in it. Whatever. As long as it's no more than 150 words - that's half a page. Then email that to me at rachelvolivier [at] yahoo dot com (make the obvious adjustments).
If I really like your 150 word essay/story/thing then you could get that book that you wrote about for free. If I really, really like it, then I may ask you if I can post it on my blog with the announcement that you won.
Deadline is midnight Pacific Time Saturday, August 31, 2013. I'll contact winners by the end of September.
So, stay cool and enjoy the rest of the summer!
