GUEST BLOGGER POST: Welcome to Jeremy Robinson’s Great Kindle Giveaway and Blog Tour

“Hurray for free Kindles!” you say, but who the hell is Jeremy Robinson? Allow me to introduce myself. I’m the author of eleven mixed genre novels, published in ten languages, including the popular fantasy YA series, THE LAST HUNTER, and the fast-paced Jack Sigler series (also known as Chess Team—not nearly as nerdy as it sounds), PULSE, INSTINCT, and THRESHOLD from Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s Press. I’m the co-author of an expanding series of novellas deemed the Chesspocalypse, which take place in the Chess Team universe. If that doesn’t wet your whistle, I’m also known as Jeremy Bishop, the #1 Amazon.com horror author of THE SENTINEL and the controversial novel, TORMENT. For more about me, or my books, visit http://www.jeremyrobinsononline.com/.

I have watched for years as my fellow authors held online events called blog tours. Some would visit ten blogs. Others, as many as ninety. And every day they would bring something different, waxing eloquent about a multitude of topics. When I finally decided to have a blog tour of my own, and settled on doing each and every weekday in October, my first thought was, “This will be cool,” which was immediately followed up by, “Holy crap, I can’t think of something interesting to say twenty times in one month!” I can barely think of something worthwhile for my own blog just once a month. The solution is what follows; each blog participating in the tour could ask me ANY three questions. That means, if the subject matter bores you, I’m not to blame! Huzzah!

But fear not. There are other rewards for sloughing through the questions and answers. I’ll be giving away two Kindles to two randomly selected readers who sign up for my newsletter. Details on the giveaway can be found below. On to the Q&A!

You’ve written science fiction, fantasy, thrillers, horror, and probably a few genres I’m missing. Is there another genre you’re interested in expanding into? Do you see yourself ever writing fiction that wouldn’t be classified as “genre”? What about non-fiction?

I think I’ve hit all the genres that interest me (including non-fiction—I wrote The Screenplay Workbook). It’s possible I might go a little more straight forward thriller in the future (without monsters or crazy science) but I don’t see myself branching out into romance or medical thrillers. That said, I do plan to branch back into other formats of storytelling (video games, movies, TV series). I’ve made a lot of short films and viral videos over the years and am hoping to make my first full length horror movie in the next year.

As a diver and science geek, I am fascinated by the ocean and the creatures that live within it. Based on some of your novels, I’d guess we have this in common. What draws you to this subject matter?

I grew up two minutes from the ocean. As a kid, I spent a lot of time exploring the coast and islands off of Massachusetts North Shore. The ocean just has this kind of draw on me. I have no doubts that there are many more amazing creatures, some big, that have yet to be discovered. It’s dangerous. It’s alien. It’s everything that draws my attention, and on top of that, the sight and smell of the thing brings me peace and inspires me. Right now I live 25 minutes from the ocean and it feels too far.

You’re about as busy as a full-time author/designer/publisher can be, and yet you’ve made it a priority to give back to your community as a founder of the New Hampshire AuthorFest. Where did the idea come from, and what are your hopes and goals for the festival?

I started NH Authorfest several years ago with the manager of my local Waldenbooks (which has since been closed). We both wanted to promote literacy in my city so we threw it together and made it a yearly event. Last year, after Waldenbooks closed, the event became an official non-profit organization and things have grown quickly. But we’re still evolving. Being a non-profit imposed more restrictions than we knew and the way we promote literacy has been pigeon-holed to giving money to organizations who apply for a grant. We can’t give to anyone else. We can’t donate books. Etc. So, it’s possible we will end our non-profit status so we can give without restrictions.

Hope that was as good for you as it was for me. Now how about that kindle giveaway?

Here’s the deal: to be entered to win one of two free kindles all you have to do is visit my website—http://www.jeremyrobinsononline.com/—and sign up for the newsletter. That’s it. The first kindle will go to a randomly chosen newsletter signup on October 31. For the second kindle, there’s a catch. The second giveaway will only be triggered if one of my kindle books hits the Amazon.com bestseller list (top 100). So pick up some books (most are just $2.99 a pop) and spread the word! If one of the books squeaks up to #100 for just a single hour, the second kindle will be given away to another randomly chosen newsletter sign up on October 31.

*When you sign up for the newsletter, be sure to include the name of the blog that referred you in the field provided. I’ll be giving away two $50 Amazon.com gift certificates to the blog that refers the most sign-ups and another to the blog who referred the first kindle winner.

** I will announce winners via Twitter, Facebook, my blog, and newsletter (which you will be signed up for!) but I’ll also e-mail the winners directly—I’ll need to know where to ship those kindles!

Thanks for spending some time with me today. Hope you enjoyed the Q&A, and good luck with the kindle giveaway!

-- Jeremy Robinson