TRIBE BUILDING CONTEST BEGINS: NOW!!

Build Your Tribe

Begin Your Quest

Last year's Tribebuilding Contest for Curse of the Spider King was a HUGE success! We had six active tribes who worked together to do some absolutely amazing things! Venom & Song, book 2 of The Berinfell Chronicles will ship to stores beginning June 9th, so in honor of Book 2's release Christopher Hopper and I are launching:
Tribebuilding Contest 2


This year's contest will use the same general rules as last year's contest,  so if you know the basics, skip the next part (in purple text). If you are new to Tribebuilding, make sure you read.

The BASICS:

1. You will gather 14 people (friends, family, etc) to join your Tribe. As the gatherer of this tribe, you become the Tribe Leader.

2. Your goal is to have each member of the tribe do as many of the Tribe Tasks as possible, earning Vanadil Points for your Tribe.

3. Tribe Tasks are things like reviewing Batson or Hopper books on Amazon, Borders, CBD, B&N, etc. or making posters or videos, or blogging, etc.

4. The Tribe leaders send me a Tribe Report on the 7th of every month. The report lists what each tribe member did and how many points total were earned.

5. That's it. That's the basic contest.


Major Changes for this year's version:

1. Tribe can earn GINORMOUS points for Creative Open Category Projects! It will vary by concept. Just propose an idea, and I'll tell you how many points will be offered.  

2. Last year, we had six of the seven tribe names taken. If those tribes want to participate again, please let me know immediately so we can secure the Tribe Name for you. Additional tribes can create their own tribe name.

3. Tribe must be at least 14 people, not 21 like last year.

4. Tribes need not be geographically close in location to each other, but it helps when we plan the private book party.

5. Amazon Blitz, coming soon, so do NOT order Venom and Song just yet. If you order ON THE BLITZ DAY, it will mean ridiculous points for your Tribe! I mean OUTRAGEOUS, IMPOSSIBLY LARGE Numbers! WOOT.

Be on the lookout for RULE CHANGES coming soon.

I've outlined the entire contest and uploaded it page-by-page as you see below. You can click all the images and read right from the Web.

OR

You can click HERE and download the pdf file.

Also, Tribe Leaders from last year, please email me about Rules/etc. that didn't work too well last year or were confusing. I'd like to make this year's even better than before.

 Let the games BEGIN!

Tribe Names Claimed Last Year:
*Note: email me right away if you want to reclaim your Tribe's Name, or I will open them for new Tribes!


Valorbrand: taken by Kiada/Starfast/Robby  

Silvertree: Taken by Keeneye 

Ashheart: Taken by AmyA

Nightwing: Taken by Jacob Parker  

Swiftstorm: Taken by Seth 

Shadowtear: Taken by TimV 

Oakenflower: Unclaimed


Flaming Arrow:Created by Sir Andrew

----------------------------------------------- 

Did you think I forgot to mention prizes?


In addition to the prizes from last year (Private Book Party, Swords, Signed ARCs, etc), how about having EVERY member of your tribe mentioned in the Acknowledgement section of Berinfell Book 3*???


How about access to a special "Member's Only" Website full of Berinfell Lore, original Desktop art, games, and more!


CH and I are still thinking about additional prizes, so check back often for updates!


PS: Last year's Prize Winners will begin receiving prize packs in June! Thank you for your patience!

Tribe Building Contest: Quest Alert!

March 1st.

That is the deadline for the Curse of the Spider King Tribe Building Contest. Right now, the standings are close. VERY CLOSE. I will post standings one more time before the end.

Time Sensitive Quest!

Looking for Vanadil Points? Here's a chance to get a pile of them:

BLESS A FRIEND THIS EASTER:
Purchase a Copy of Curse of the Spider King by clicking on my Amazon link in the sidebar. This purchase is designated as a gift that you plan to give to a friend or family member this Easter. This quest is repeatable as often as you wish, but only until March 1st. Note: this does not apply to books purchased prior to today: Feb. 19th.

Vanadils Earned for each Spider King Book Purchased for this Quest: 5000

This also applied to any of my other books purchased from my sidebar Amazon links, but the vanadils earned will be 1000 per book.

Tribebuilding Contest…EXTENDED!

After a request from a number of readers and a discussion with Sir Christopher, we have decided to extend the Curse of the Spider King Tribe Building Contest! We have 5 very active tribes and one more about to go active. The new deadline for all Contest Activities is:

March 1st, 2010 

Ready to rock? Curse of the Spider King Music, Track 1

Christopher Hopper and I are pleased to announce the official release of The Lost Ones, our new single for the Curse of the Spider King. We batted around the idea of putting it on iTunes and numerous other online providers, but felt it was better simply to offer it to you directly through our websites. For free. If you'd like to donate a dollar for the song download, that's appreciated, but please don't feel obligated. This is a small 'thank you' to all those of you who have been so faithful to help promote our works through your enthusiasm.

If nothing else, please leave a comment to let us know you've downloaded the single.

"The Lost Ones"
Music by: Christopher Hopper
Words by: Wayne Thomas Batson & Christopher Hopper
Performed, Recorded, Mixed & Mastered by: Christopher Hopper
Sprig Records 2010

DOWNLOAD "The Lost Ones" (5.9Mb)

Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy Blog Tour: Monday thru Wed this Week!

 Greetings all! I'm stoked to let you know that Curse of the Spider King will be featured this week on the Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy Blog Tour. If you don't know the CSFF, allow me to tell you that their mission in life is to make more and more readers aware of good SciFi & Fantasy written by Christian Authors.

With each tour, an awful lot of bloggers put in an awful huge effort to discuss, review, promote, and celebrate good books. In the process, they usually run the book being discusses into the Top Ten Book Blogs on the enter world wide web. Pretty impressive eh?

Christopher Hopper and I are honored to be featured this week. So, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, you won't catch me on my own blog very much, but I will be visiting everyone on the blogroll below. Please join me. Drop some comments. Give us your .02.

On the following blogs, you'll find all kinds of new interviews with CH and I, not to mention some stories about us and the book that you'll find NO WHERE else.

Brandon Barr
Justin Boyer
Amy Browning
Valerie Comer
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Shane Deal
Jeff Draper
Emmalyn Edwards
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Todd Michael Greene
Ryan Heart
Timothy Hicks
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Tina Kulesa
Melissa Lockcuff
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Mirtika
Nissa
John W. Otte
Cara Powers
Chawna Schroeder
James Somers
Speculative Faith
Robert Treskillard
Fred Warren
Jason Waguespac
Phyllis Wheeler
Jill Williamson
KM Wilsher

News Galore: Moonbeams and Spiders and Audio, Oh My!

Greetings, all! How are you? I'm crazy busy and crazy wonderful. Please read on and find out why.


Item #1: The Amazon Blitz

Christopher and I are absolutely FLOORED by the devotion and generosity of our readers. In an attempt to kick of the release of Curse of the Spider King, we launched the first annual Amazon Blitz, asking readers if they were planning to purchase SK anyway to purchase on the same day (Oct. 7th) and drive up the Amazon Sales Rank Number. Now, we knew it would be good because our readers have always blessed us silly. But 70,000+ places good? Yup. CotSK's sales rank climbed from 70,617th to 449th in less than one day. It remained under 3,000 for three days and under 20 for seven days. For that kind of effort, we say thank you. We're honored.




Item #2: The Silver Moonbeam Award

Curse of the Spider King releases nationwide November 3rd, so Christopher and I were absolutely shocked to learn that our cowritten book was reviewed and awarded the Silver Moonbeam for Young Adult Fantasy Fiction. Click Here to see all the winners including a BRONZE for the Miller Brothers, YESSS!!

Item #3: Curse of the Spider King Audio!

For the first time ever, one of my books has been made into an audio book. Voiced by the incredibly talented Greg Whalen (Disney, Veggie Tales, etc) and produced by the audio wizards at Oasis, CotSK is done right. I listened to the first chapter today and practically jumped around my classroom. Mr. Whalen just nailed the voices of some of our main characters. You can listen to the first chapter of the audio book by clicking HERE.

Item #4: Webcast with the Miller Brothers!

I had the spectacular opportunity to be live with author's Chris and Alan Miller (Hunter Brown) tonight on their weekly webcast. 174 viewers joined us. It was a great time to talk author stuff, book stuff, and writing. If you'd like to listen in, click HERE.

Item #5: Spider King Releases in Maryland!

Christopher Hopper is on his way to Maryland. He and I will be officially releasing Spider King to fans this Friday and Saturday. Barnes & Noble Long Gate Shopping Center on Friday Night (6:30-close) and then His Way Christian Books Ellicott City on Saturday, 6-close. There will be swordfights, ridiculous banter, dramatic readings, music, contests, games, prizes, and a giant spider named "George." If you live within three states of Maryland, come on down. You will not want to miss this!

The Blitz Rolls On! We've Broken 1000!

Click on the picture above!

Check out the Amazon sales ranking.

As of 7pm EST, Curse of the Spider King is #994 #635

down from 70,617 this morning!

Folks we are doing this. Every purchase counts. We could break 100. God is good. Should He choose to bless, we could break into the Top 25!

If you'd like to get in on the Blitz, purchase Curse of the Spider King, and get FREE Bookplate Stickers signed by both authors, click the link below!

Join the Blitz! 

Today is the Day! Time for the Curse of the Spider King Amazon Blitz!

Today is the day!

October 7th

Now is the time! 

Blitz Amazon Day:

If you are planning to purchase Curse of the Spider King, would you consider preordering from Amazon TODAY, Wednesday, Oct. 7th? We are trying to get Spider King to climb (pun intended) high on the Amazon Bestseller List. 

Free signed bookplates for all who purchase Spider King on this day. Plus: If you're in on the Tribebuilding Contest, you get mega points for ordering on this day. Multiple copies count! lol

Please reply to this post if you "Blitzed Amazon" and purchased a copy of Curse of the Spider King today! And, if you get a chance, see what Curse of the Spider King's Sales Rank is up to and POST IT here on this thread.

As of 10pm on Oct. 6th (Blitz Eve), the ranking for CotSK was as you see below. 

 

Well done, so far you've helped CotSK increase its ranking: 59,165 places!!! Now it's at 10,947!

Correction, now it's at 2,217! AMAZING! 

Correction, as of 3pm EST, it's at 1,727! Spectacular! Come on folks, pour it on! 

This is getting crazy. The # is dropping by the hour. It's 5pm EST, and the number is now down to 1,426! People are emailing me with receipts of 3, 4, 5, even 8 book purchases! You are very generous and dedicated to jump in with both feet like this! 

And thank you so much for supporting us on this adventure. All glory goes to Jesus. 

Upcoming Events--Mark Your Calendar!

There are Several Curse of the Spider King Events Coming Up!

Please Mark Your Calendars 

Wednesday, October 7th

Blitz Amazon Day:

If you are planning to purchase Curse of the Spider King, would you consider preordering from Amazon on Wednesday, Oct. 7th? We are trying to get Spider King to climb (pun intended) high on the Amazon Bestseller List. Free signed bookplates for all who purchase Spider King on this day. Plus: If you're in on the Tribebuilding Contest, you get mega points for ordering on this day. Multiple copies count! lol

Friday, October 16th

† Christopher Hopper and I visit Liberty Christian School in Owings Mills, MD from 8:30-11am.

† Christopher Hopper and I visit Grace Christian School in Owings Mills, MD from 12:30-3:00pm. 

† Huge Release Party #1: Barnes & Noble, Ellicott City, MD.

Swordfighting, Music, Booksigning, Contests, and PRE-release copies of Curse of the Spider King available! 6:30-close.  

Saturday, October 17th

† Huge Release Party #2: His Way Christian Bookstore, Ellicott City, MD. Swordfighting, Music, Booksigning, Contests, and PRE-release copies of Curse of the Spider King available! 6:30-close.

Friday, October 30th

† Christopher Hopper and I visit Indian River Middle School in Upstate, NY from Time TBA.

† Huge Release Party #3: Borders, Salmon Run Mall, Watertown, NY. Swordfighting, Music, Booksigning, Contests, and PRE-release copies of Curse of the Spider King available! Time 4-7.  

Saturday, October 31th

† Huge Release Party #3: Barnes & Noble, Pittsford, NY.

Swordfighting, Music, Booksigning, Contests, and PRE-release copies of Curse of the Spider King available! Time 2-5.

(More to Come. Stay Tuned) 

Mark Your Calendars: October 7th Amazon Blitz! And Book Release Parties Announced!

October 7th

Hi, all! The immediate threat has passed, so I thought I'd take a moment to announce a new promotional contest. You may or may not know that the first month's sales of a new book can make or break a book long term. Publishers look at those first month numbers and make decisions on how much marketing and advertising they are willing to do for the book.--including placement in bookstores. The bookstores themselves also make decisions based on those number, perhaps even as soon as a couple of weeks worth of sales have been reported.

So, Christopher and I are asking, if you are planning to order Curse of the Spider King from Amazon anyway, please consider ordering on October 7th. Your order that day will drive Curse of the Spider King higher and higher up Amazon's bestseller list...which, in turn, will allow TONS of other people to see the book on the bestseller list. And that...leads to new sales. ;-)

For anyone who orders that day and emails me the Amazon receipt, I'll send you an Official Curse of the Spider King Bookplate Sticker signed by Christopher Hopper and by me! To order, you can click my Curse of the Spider King Amazon ad on my sidebar or go directly to Amazon.


Christopher Hopper and Wayne Thomas Batson are planning a series of huge release parties for Curse of the Spider King. The book isn't supposed to be in stores until November, but we've arranged to get copies available for four HUGE events--two in upstate NY and two in Maryland.

What to expect? Sword battles, dramatic readings, music, prizes, giant spiders, and much more!

Here are the dates and times:

In Maryland

Friday, October 16th: Barnes & Noble, Long Gate Shopping Center, Ellicott City Maryland. Time: 6:30 to Close. 410-203-9001

Saturday, October 17th: His Way Bookstore, Ellicott City, Maryland. Time: 6 to close. (410) 465-7546

In New York State:

Friday, October 30th: Borders Books, Watertown, New York. Time: 4pm to 7pm. (315) 779-0006

Saturday, October 31st (Special Halloween Creepy Signing), Barnes and Noble, Pittsford (Near Rochester) New York. Time: 2pm--5pm. (585) 586-6020

Even if you can't make it, tell friends and family who might be able to come. We want to blow the doors off these stores!

Something terrible has happened. Help needed.

I cannot go into detail at this time, but I've found myself in the middle of something very serious. And I am deathly afraid that I may never find my way out again. Something terrible has happened, but next to what's coming...what I witnessed was nothing. It has begun.

It is extremely dangerous even to hint at this in an open forum such as a blog. For those who would risk getting involved, I have left a handful of clues. Only those who dare, those with great faith will find the first step. The rabbit hole is open.

...I will say no more.

TRIBE BUILDING CONTEST: PART 2 Begins NOW!!!

Build Your Tribe

Begin Your Quest

Last year's Tribebuilding Contest for Curse of the Spider King was a HUGE success! We had six active tribes who worked together to do some absolutely amazing things! Venom & Song, book 2 of The Berinfell Chronicles will ship to stores beginning June 9th, so in honor of Book 2's release Christopher Hopper and I are launching:
Tribebuilding Contest 2


This year's contest will use the same general rules as last year's contest, but with a few major changes:

1. Tribe can earn GINORMOUS points for Creative Open Category Projects! It will vary by concept. Just propose an idea, and I'll tell you how many points will be offered.  

2. Last year, we had six of the seven tribe names taken. If those tribes want to participate again, please let me know immediately so we can secure the Tribe Name for you. Additional tribes can create their own tribe name.

3. Tribe must be at least 14 people, not 21 like last year.

4. Tribes need not be geographically close in location to each other, but it helps when we plan the private book party.

5. Amazon Blitz, coming soon, so do NOT order Venom and Song just yet. If you order ON THE BLITZ DAY, it will mean ridiculous points for your Tribe! I mean OUTRAGEOUS, IMPOSSIBLY LARGE Numbers! WOOT.

I've outlined the entire contest and uploaded it page-by-page as you see below. You can click all the images and read right from the Web.

OR

You can click HERE and download the pdf file.

Also, Tribe Leaders from last year, please email me about Rules/etc. that didn't work too well last year or were confusing. I'd like to make this year's even better than before.

 Let the games BEGIN!

Tribe Names Claimed Last Year:
*Note: email me right away if you want to reclaim your Tribe's Name, or I will open them for new Tribes!


Valorbrand: taken by Kiada/Starfast/Robby  

Silvertree: Taken by Keeneye 

Ashheart: Taken by AmyA

Nightwing: Taken by Jacob Parker  

Swiftstorm: Taken by Seth 

Shadowtear: Taken by TimV 

Oakenflower: Unclaimed



----------------------------------------------- 

Did you think I forgot to mention prizes?


In addition to the prizes from last year (Private Book Party, Swords, Signed ARCs, etc), how about having EVERY member of your tribe mentioned in the Acknowledgement section of Berinfell Book 3*???


How about access to a special "Member's Only" Website full of Berinfell Lore, original Desktop art, games, and more!


CH and I are still thinking about additional prizes, so check back often for updates!


PS: Last year's Prize Winners will begin receiving prize packs in June! Thank you for your patience!

What is this a picture of?

If you think this is just a picture of author Christopher Hopper and I via iChat, you're only half right. Search around my blog home page and see if you can figure out what this picture is really about?

On another note: The visitor counter in my sidebar is growing closer to the 100K mark. I wonder who will be the 100,000th visitor to Enter the Door Within? Stay tuned.