A Summer of Indie Curtain Call!

I’m Robert Stanek and I’m your host here at Go Indie - Read Indies. You know you're in the right place in life when you wake up every day with a smile on your face. You know you're in the right place as a writer when that smile is because you're eager to get to the keyboard, eager to get the thoughts racing through your mind down on paper.

That eagerness to capture thoughts on paper has carried me through many days, many years, and many books. As a writer, that eagerness has made the blank page a friend rather than a foe. That blank page can be your friend too--if you let it. And if you let it, you can fill it with everything that's inside you, everything that you can wonder about, everything that you can dream about, and everything that you can imagine.

Over these past many weeks, I've featured the books of many authors who weren't afraid of that blank page either--or maybe they were but they figured out how to turn that fear into something magical, if only for a time. That magical thing being a filled page, a page of letters and words. Words that dance and sing. Words that make your heart swoon or soar. Words that make your thoughts chase the heavens or scatter to the winds. Words that make your very breath catch, slow or race.

As Summer of Indie nears the end, I want to thank those who have supported the event faithfully, for it was their support that inspired me this summer, and their strength, as much as anything else, that made Summer of Indie possible.
 
Summer of Indie was a journey as much as anything else. A chance to learn about new authors and new books, and perhaps discover new favorites. Whether this is your first or hundredth visit to the Read Indies blog, I hope you'll now take a moment to read through posts you may have missed, bookmark your favorites so you can find them again, and make a few reading lists.

I hope your list will include some of my books as well, and I'd like to take a moment to introduce you to my works.

My day job is as a tech writer, a job I've been doing full-time since 1996. You can learn more about my William Stanek books at http://www.williamstanek.com/. Windows 8 Pocket Consultant is one of my latest tech books.

 

 

Before I wrote tech books, I was in the military and I wrote a true account of my war-time service in a book called Stormjammers: The Extraordinary Story of Electronic Warfare in the Gulf War. The book isn't as popular as No Easy Day, but I'd like to think it just as vividly depicts the sacrifices of the men and women I served with in the Gulf War. Learn more about this book at http://stanek.reagentpress.com/.

I started my writing journey in 1986 when I penned Keeper Martin's Tale, the first Ruin Mist book and my first full-length novel. As an instant, indie bestseller, Keeper Martin's Tale shook trees and rattled cages when it debuted in print in 2002--and it's still shaking trees and rattling cages today. Journey to Ruin Mist by visiting http://www.ruinmistmovie.com/.

Another project I worked on for many years before publication is the tale of a big, little place called Bugville. Originally, I wrote the Bugville stories for my children who delighted in them so much they urged me to publish them for other children to enjoy. Buster's story begins with Visit Dad & Mom At Work, but I think it's more appropriate to share with you one of the the more recent stories. It's called Have a Spooktacular Halloween and it features Buster's friend Lass.

Journey to Bugville by visiting http://www.bugvillecritters.com/








If you decide to read my books, and I hope you do, one thing I hope you take with you afterward is the sense that anything's possible. You can dream. You can achieve dreams. All those years ago when I began writing, I had no idea where my dream would take me and yet I dared to dream because I believed the impossible was entirely possible. And, it is.


-- Robert Stanek

Robert Stanek -- Thank you Chicki Brown, Carole Gill, Brian Bigelow, and Tammie Gibbs!

After a brief hiatus, Summer of Indie continues. I was off working through the wee hours to finish up two new books for my publisher: Windows 8 Pocket Consultant and Windows Server 2012 Pocket Consultant. It was a down- to-the-wire finish on the final review to update the books for the Release version of these new operating systems.

 

As I get back to Summer of Indie, I want to thank Chicki Brown, Carole Gill, Brian Bigelow, and Tammie Gibbs for continuing to be Summer of Indie's BIGGEST supporters.

This BIG event wouldn't be possible without such great support!

THANK YOU!

Have you read their blogs yet? All worth a read I think:

•  Brian Bigelow's Blog (http://brian-bigelow.blogspot.com/)

• Chicki Brown's Blog (http://sisterscribbler.blogspot.com/)

• Carole Gill's Blog (http://carolegillofficialauthor.blogspot.com/)

• Tammie Clarke Gibbs' Blog (http://authortammieclarkegibbs.blogspot.com/)

 

My official Robert Stanek blog is here: http://robertstanek.blogspot.com/. If you want to read that too... :-)

 

Thanks everyone!

Summer of Indie Begins in 2 Days

2 days to Summer of Indie. 

Summer of Indies features many of the best and brightest stars of today's indie scene.

Summer of Indie is a FREE event. I'm Robert Stanek and I'm donating my time to support the event. Summer of Indie is a celebration of the indie author and the indie book. It's all about recognizing indie authors and celebrating their books.

You can support Summer of Indie by following this blog, encouraging others to follow and tweeting. Tweet, Tweet, Tweet...

#Readers, once you #GOIndie, you get Great #Books, Better Prices! #FB: http://t.co/L4JndVk0 #Blog: http://t.co/Wm8eI7ay via @RobertStanek

#SummerOfIndie #ahead #AmIn Are You In? http://readindies.blogspot.com via @RobertStanek #books #authors

Join us for Summer of Indie! Spread the word!

Featured Author: Joseph Rinaldo

Joe's Kentucky born and bred. His hometown, Owensboro, is also the setting for his book, Hazardous Choices. Joe hangs out online on Facebook and Twitter. You also can find Joe at his web site.

The fictional Western Kentucky State University Darnell Jackson attends is based on the college he rooted for as a kid. One of the characters, Eric Rotteli, has Down Syndrome. Joe's daughter also has Down. Knowing her and coaching Special Olympics basketball enabled Joe to make this character realistic.

After high school in Owensboro, Joe graduated from The Ohio State University with a BSBA with a concentration in Finance. Later, he received an MBA from Western Kentucky University.
Hazardous Choices

After surviving life in a violent Chicago street gang through his high school years, Darnell Jackson’s future appears promising. A football scholarship gives him the chance to escape the thug lifestyle.

During his first year in college, Darnell safely resides in a small Kentucky town, playing Division Two college football and trying to make something of himself. Adjusting to the new surroundings proves tough, but a teammate and a girl give him hope that his future will be better than his past.

In the summer after his freshman year, he returns to the old neighborhood to be with his mother. The gang reasserts its hold on him, and the leader orders Darnell to kill a member of a rival gang. Nearly dying in a gang fight, Darnell shoots an enemy gangbanger. This forces Darnell to re-evaluate his future. As a result, he lies to the mercurial leader of his gang, claiming he completed his assignment. After “doing work” for his gang, Darnell receives permission to head back to school and the security of small-town life.

When the head gangbanger learns of Darnell’s lie, the small Kentucky town isn’t so safe anymore.

Find Joe's book:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble


A Spy At Home

A retired CIA operative comes to believe he wasted his professional life not only promoting questionable American policies, but missing life with his family. To ease the pain he diverts millions that the CIA expected him to use funding a coup attempt that would establish a pro-American government in an African country. Seeing the coup would fail, Garrison decides to save the money for himself. You, the reader, can decide if he's a villain with evil intent, a hero with altruistic motives, or a regular guy sick of working for peanuts in a dangerous environment.

Back at home he and his wife look forward to their golden years being luxuriously comfortable and opulently relaxed. Unfortunately, after his wife dies in a tragic accident, he must learn all that she knew about caring for Noah, their mentally retarded son. After a life of planning for contingencies, the former spy must deal with the possibility that he may die before his son. Who will care for the son when the dad spent a life out of the country and now has no one to lean on?

Find Joe's book:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble