Monday, May 29, 2017

Butterfly Suicide--A Kindle Scout Campaign

As we all know, Amazon has become a big player in the world of publishing. It's a driving force for readers and authors. A few years ago they introduced their Kindle Scout program. The idea behind Kindle Scout is to create a place where readers can preview up and coming authors and help decide what works should get published by Kindle Press. It's a great way to get a sneak peek at some of the amazing work that's out there, but has yet to be recognized. All a reader has to do is check out the excerpt posted for a book that catches their eye and then hit the Nominate Me button. At the end of the 30 day campaign, they receive a letter indicating whether or not their choice as been selected.

I've been watching this program for a while and have decided to go for it with my latest young adult novel, Butterfly Suicide. Having published with small presses, as well as, independently, the idea of being a hybrid author who works on multiple platforms is highly appealing. I would love to work with Kindle Press!

So if you are interested in helping out writer, if you want to be what the folks in Shakespeare's time called Patrons--but without the financial commitment--please check out my book, Butterfly Suicide, on Kindle Scout starting on May 31.  Thanks!

Click here to go to the Kindle Scout Nominating Page for Butterfly Suicide which will be active on May 31: Butterfly Suicide Kindle Scout

In the meantime, here is a blurb of Butterfly Suicide:



Butterfly suicide.

The blood on the cafeteria floor has been washed away and the bullet holes plastered over, but those words carved deeply into the back of the worn auditorium chair will always be a reminder for the students of Rockingham High School of what happened there last May. For Stephen Valley, the brother of infamous school shooter Jude Valley, that day is one he will never be allowed to forget—especially since the small town blames him for the loss of the seven students killed in Jude’s rampage. Tormented by cruel late night phone calls, vandalism to his home, and a growing reputation as a bad boy, Stephen longs to escape to a place where no one has ever heard of Jude or his deeds. Unfortunately, poverty has a firm grip on his mother’s finances, imprisoning him in the bigoted town with no options to leave.

Monica Monroe, a self proclaimed Theatre Nerd, hates being known only as the sister of Jude Valley’s murdered girlfriend, Simone. The constant questions about what really happened the day of Simone’s death, the sympathetic looks from strangers, the way her parents are falling apart—it’s all become too much. Even though she’s never believed Jude killed her sister over a lover’s quarrel, she does blames herself for not seeing what a monster he was.  Her mother and father have decreed she never talk to her secret crush, Stephen Valley, but when she is partnered with him for an acting scene in Theatre class, Monica views this as an opportunity to finally get some answers. Being paired with Stephen proves to be dangerous for her emotional well being and her heart. When he is beaten up for being on her street, Monica realizes his life after the actions of Jude has been as traumatic as her own.


When they look inside Jude’s Artistic Bible—a collection of Jude’s most private and graphic art work—Monica and Stephen decipher a devastating secret which threatens to rip their families apart and destroy their blossoming secret romance. Together they must decide whether to confront the truth or keep quiet the reason for the “butterfly’s suicide.”