Thursday, May 30, 2013

Let's Go Intergalactic

(Okay, now the Beastie Boys song just popped in my head...)

Anywho, I'm brainstorming intergalactic story ideas over at my blog, Adventures of a Sci-Fi Writer, if you're interested.

Come on... you know you are. *wink, wink*

http://sci-fiadventures.blogspot.com/2013/05/brainstorming-thursday-intergalactic.html

Join in my geeky fun.

Saturday, May 25, 2013

The SFR Brigade Presents - 5/24 - 5/30

The SFR Brigade Presents snippets should now be live. Share and enjoy!

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Will Sci-Fi Romance Sink Without Innovative Marketing?


A recent post at Dear Author explores The Limits of Marketing: When Does Manipulation Go Too Far and questions whether some publicity stunts cross an ethical line. After reading the post I realized just how fierce the competition is for science fiction romance. It's difficult enough to gain visibility under normal marketing circumstances, let alone when some authors engage in questionable/manipulative, yet clearly effective strategies.

All I can say is I know what type of marketing strategies work for and on me. If I sense any kind of manipulation, I tune out. However, I can be won over with an entertaining, innovative marketing strategy.

I'd like to direct your attention to Exhibit A:

A few years ago, independent Uruguayan filmmaker Fede Álvarez made a really cool video called Ataque de Pánico! (Panic Attack!). I first learned about it at SF Signal. Check it out (you only have to watch the first 2 minutes to get the gist):

According to the Wikipedia entry,
A trailer of the film was uploaded to YouTube in October 2006, with some scenes from the finished version.[5] The official production budget of the film was given as only $300. In addition to writing, editing and directing the film, Álvarez created the visual effects based on computer-generated imagery.
The video, which was free, went viral. As a result, Álvarez got noticed in a big way:
The film was premiered on October 31, 2009 at the Buenos Aires Rojo Sangre film festival and uploaded to YouTube on November 3, 2009.[7] Following widespread media coverage, Álvarez was offered a $30 million Hollywood deal to develop and direct a full-length film.
In fact, Álvarez is the director of the EVIL DEAD 2013 reboot!

Ataque de Pánico! was a marketing strategy for the aspiring filmmaker, but it was a very appealing form of marketing. He worked hard and gave me free, compelling entertainment. That kind of marketing gets me interested in a person's work. I also feel invested in his future success because it means even more entertainment for me!

$300.00 leveraged into $30 million!

What if SFR could deliver something similar--not necessarily a video--just some kind of entertainment in order to increase appeal and visibility? Granted, Álvarez had a very specific skill set and is operating in a different medium, but I can't help but wonder: what can authors of science fiction romance take away from his strategy?

Sunday, May 19, 2013

The 2nd SFR Brigade Blog Hop - Come and Sign Up!

It's that time of year again! Midsummer is approaching, and this year for the Brigade's second blog hop, the event will take place over several days instead of just one, giving us more chance to spread the news and hopefully draw the crowds. I'm pleased to reveal the badge and banner for the hop (designed by Misa Buckley) and hope you'll add it to your blogs to help promote the event. A huge thank you to Misa for her stellar work.




This year's theme is Out of this World. The hop will run from the 21st to the 25th of June. A grand prize (or more than one depending on donations) will be decided closer to the time. Last year we were able to give away a Kindle to the first prize winner, and a bundle of ebooks and a gift voucher to the second.

In the meantime, you can find the guidelines and the sign up inlinkz listed in the Brigade pages at the top of this blog (just below the banner) and I really hope more Brigaders will sign up. Everyone last year reported a jump in visitors to their site during the event. Come and join us!

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Cover Reveal! TALES FROM THE SFR BRIGADE Coming Soon.

The SFR Brigade membership has selected a cover for our first anthology. Here's the big reveal:



The anthology features nine stories from nine different authors in a variety of styles and settings including space opera, near future, apocalyptic, Earth-based and alien romance. (You may even discover some favorite characters from Science Fiction Romance in the line-up. *wink*)

The price of the anthology? Free!

Our plan is to conquer the universe reach a wide audience with this stellar story sampling--especially all the Science Fiction Romance fans out there who don't yet realize they are SFR fans! (Resistance is futile.)

We're shooting for a midsummer launch of the Tales from the SFR Brigade Anthology.


Sunday, May 12, 2013

New Feature At The Galaxy Express: SFR ebooks For 99 cents or Free

The Galaxy Express has a new feature: Science fiction romance ebooks for 99 cents or free!

The new section is in the header and is titled "Cheap/Free ebooks to Download."

Learn more here.

I'm looking to expand this list. Authors, if you have a science fiction romance(s) in a permanent free-99 cent price range and would like your book considered for this list, please contact me (Heather) at sfrgalaxy “at” gmail.com. (For limited-time promotional discounts, I'll help spread the word via blog posts, Twitter, and Facebook).

Two new and FREE short stories are part of this event:



WILBERT E. HORNBECK'S FANTASTIC ADVENTURE by Heather Massey (in the interest of full disclosure, that's me!)


Happy reading!


Saturday, May 4, 2013

The SFR Brigade Presents 5/3 - 5/9

This week's snippets should now be live! Share and enjoy.

SFR Brigade Bases of Operation