"The Dreamers" FREE on Amazon Kindle!!

Hey everybody! It's been a while since I've blogged over here. (Sorry about that/you're welcome, whichever ;))

If you read the title, and I'm assuming you have, or did just now, I hope you're as excited as I am!
This Thursday through Saturday, September 26-28, my first published novel, "The Dreamers" (Second Edition!) is going to be FREE to download on your Kindle, or Kindle reading app. Here's the rundown.

Between September 26-28, click RIGHT HERE and download "The Dreamers."

If you're new to my blog, or don't know anything about "The Dreamers," here's a Summary.

Sam is a Dreamer. This means that he can live inside of his dreams. In them, he must stop the evil Malfix from taking over not just the Dream Realm, but earth as well. Sam's adventures bring him through races, mazes, explosions, battles, and yes, the occasional cheesy knock-knock joke.

"The Dreamers" is Young Adult/Middle Grade Modern Science Fiction/ Fantasy/ Action/ Adventure. It's got a little bit of everything. It's been enjoyed by people from the 3rd grade on up, and currently has a 4 Star Average rating on Amazon.com.

"The Dreamers" was originally written when I was 12 years old back in November of 2011 for NaNoWriMo. Since then, it has been edited time and time again, published, awarded, and enjoyed by hundreds of people. On September 19th, "The Dreamers" got a Second Edition.

This second edition resolves past spelling, grammatical, and formatting errors that slipped through and may have hindered the reading experience.

The existing reviews on the Amazon page for "The Dreamers" are for the First, Original Edition. Any and all points made about grammatical mistakes, formatting errors, etc. are null and corrected!! :D

So why am I giving it away for free?!
I want to get The Dreamers in as many hands as I can. Knowing that my book has been read/downloaded thousands of times is already mind blowing for me to think about. I want as many people to join Sam in his adventures as I can. I want to share what was formerly trapped in my head with other people! Plus, these downloads can hugely impact sales afterward, by showing up on pages' "Readers who bought this book, also bought..." Sections. This will help the entire series out by getting it some further Amazon promotion.

How can I help?
Why, thank you for asking! ;)

1. WRITE A REVIEW ON AMAZON!

People don't realize how much of a difference a positive Amazon review can make. Five minutes of your time and some kind words not only mean a LOT to me, they can help influence other potential readers to give it a try. New reviews honestly make my day, and help inspire me to write more.

2. SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

I want this going viral, folks! Getting onto Bestselling charts is one of the best and most profitable ways to promote the book. But... It's also one of the hardest. A simple tweet, Facebook post or share, YouTube video, blog post... ANYTHING can help a LOT! If any of those results in ONE more download, that's one more satisfied reader, potential review, potential sale of "The Nightmarers," or even an Amazon review! 

Add "The Dreamers" to your GoodReads. Share it with your friends, there! It's super easy if you already have an account, and your friends will appreciate a quality free read. (Same goes with Facebook, Twitter... All of those!)

3. GET THE SEQUEL!

If you enjoy "The Dreamers," be sure to grab a copy of "The Nightmarers," too! I think, and from what I've heard from the first readers, it is BETTER than The Dreamers! (Can you imagine?? I didn't think that was possible, seeing as The Dreamers is so good! ;)) Oftentimes, sequels can be a let-down after the original book. I was worried this was going to be the case, but as I typed "The End" and heard back from beta readers, I knew that The Nightmarers was a new step in a better direction. Full of more mind-bending dreamstuff, gunfights, prison breaks, new worlds, new people, and new villains, "The Nightmarers" is a whole new kind of epic.

Thank you for helping my dreams come true!!
Oliver Dahl
&
Sam Kullen

Writing Extravaganza Post 7 - Staying Motivated

Kara Harris, author of "Omni: The Hunted" is visiting on the blog today! This is our 7th Writing Extravaganza Post, so to catch up on all the other great posts that fellow young writers have done, click here! Kara wrote about how to stay motivated while writing. Her tips are great, and should help everyone get through writers' block, and keep writing. My tip for overcoming writer's block is to imagine all of the possible success your work will have if you just press through this one tough spot. That has definitely helped me out, so maybe a few of you will find it helpful as well.

My tip aside, I'll let Kara introduce herself and share her tips!

My name is Kara Harris, I am 18 years old. I am now a self-published author. I have only written one book which is called “Omni: The Hunted”. It took me in total about 6 years to do write the book. A lot of people would say, “wow it took you that long!” I would say “yes” because school took up so much of my time. It can be a hassle for teen authors because writing takes so much time and it’s hard to stay motivated to write. So when Oliver asked me to write an article about staying motivated while writing I was very happy to give my point of view.

I will first start by saying writing isn’t easy and it’s not for everyone. I know many people who like to write, but just aren’t committed to any stories they write. Most have busy schedules or they just don’t like writing long stories. Sometimes you just have to have that one idea, that one simple inspiration to get you started. It’s just staying with it that can be the problem, but that is all you need to find your spark for an idea.

Staying motivated is a hard thing to do no matter how long the novel. For me when I start something I must finish it. Some people have the mind set, but some people don’t. Not every writer is the same. Some writers have a certain schedule to follow. Motivation can come in many shapes and sizes. Some people tend to keep motivated by hearing compliments about their writing, some are motivated by inspiration and some like me just have the love for their story. However, even with the best of writers have one thing they dread above all else, writers blocks. Writer blocks are stressful periods in writing any sort of book that you simply don’t know what to next in your story. Like motivation there are many ways of dealing with writers block. One way of avoiding writers block is making an outline of your story, but an outline won’t stop writers block entirely. I think the best way to handle writers block is to take a deep breath and take a break from writing. The block will only get worse if you keep thinking about it. You just need to step back and stop thinking about your writing. I would also recommend going outside and exploring new places. If you go to new places you may become inspired to write again. The key is not thinking about the story. A new idea will naturally come to you.

In Which We Talk About Bestselling Books

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In Which: You Learn Facts That Will BLOW YOUR MIND

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The Dreamers' Second Anniversary and Second Edition Announcement

The Dreamers celebrated its second anniversary yesterday! August 9th, 2013 marks two years since its publication. These two years have been the best of my life. (They've also made up over 13% of my 15 years!) 

So much has happened since I published The Dreamers. I became one of Idaho's 2011 Top 50 Idaho Authors. The Dreamers helped me gain the title of 2012's Idaho Student of the Year. I've met and given copies of my books to some of my favorite bestselling authors, including Brandon Mull, Richard Paul Evans, and Obert Skye. The Dreamers has spent time in the top percentage of books on Amazon.com, ranking above some of my favorite books that inspired me to write at times. (The Pendragon Series by DJ Machale). Hundreds of copies have been sold at book signings alone, and I have been blessed to meet such amazing people at these events. So many incredible individuals have helped support me in so many different ways. These people have become my friends--both online and in real life. :) 

In the span of this time, so many people have joined Sam in his adventures in the Dream Realm. These people turned the pages alongside Flitch and Thep, imagining new places that had originally been pictures confined to my head. It is truly inspiring to me that what I have written lights up each reader's head with their own version of what is on the page. 

Two years. 730 days of The Dreamers being available worldwide. Thank you to everyone who helped me out. Thank you to all of you awesome people who have purchased, read, and reviewed the book. A simple "Thank You" really doesn't capture the magnitude of my thankfulness. 

Today, I am also very pleased to officially make the following announcement. The Dreamers is going to have a second edition. 

The biggest complaint about the book mentioned by reviewers has been the lack of copy editing done in the book. Several grammatical and typographical errors occur in the book. This same complaint is mirrored in all too many reviews of self-published works. 

As a self-published author, I strive to give self-publishing the good name it deserves. Too often, people abuse how awesome self-publishing can be, and publish poor quality material. I aim to publish and release only the highest quality books for my readers. 

This second edition of "The Dreamers" will be completely free of errors, typos, and mistakes in an effort to provide the best for my readers. It will also be more properly formatted to look even more beautiful on the page and eReader than ever before.

No release date has been finalized, but expect it within the next month or so. As soon as a release date is finalized, it will be added to this post.