Tom Mock - SPFBO 8 Semi-Finalist
@Tom_Mock
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Author. THE LONG NIGHTS is a #1 Bestseller in Contemporary Fantasy and Vampire Thriller. Dev Editor (link in bio). MA in English (he/him)
North Carolina, USA
Joined May 2013
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Get to know THE LONG NIGHTS:
📕Dark urban fantasy noir
📕Jack-the-Ripper style vampire
📕Victims waking as vampires
📕Telepath, artist MC
📕Witchy occult "specialist" runs a restaurant
📕magic library of memories
📕Low magic, 90s city setting
⭐️Indie awards winning⭐️
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@babadookspinoza
@EmiliaOnPoint
“Say the president is supporting genocide and we will end your political career” is how I expect it has gone
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@corncommunist
@M4dPo3t
If you’ve ever seen how much food grocery stores throw in the dumpster every night, you would never be able to see another “shoplifter” again.
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@jordanbpeterson
The pandemic is real. He has a right not to be vaccinated. He does not have a right to endanger the people around him by being a vector of disease. This is not complicated.
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@caroleighlayne
Hah. Wow. I sympathize, though, Bob. I too become uncomfortable and confused when I see a woman’s ankles, just like my fellow 17th century Puritans.
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Show, don’t tell and write what you know are two of the most misunderstood and misapplied bits of writing advice.
Write a story like the kinds of stories you love. Full stop.
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@Targ_Nation
She wasn’t shocked because it was evil, she was shocked because it would screw up her plans.
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I finally read Slaughterhouse-Five. A sublime book, wonderful, tragic, comic, absurd, and shattering. How could anyone have written a book like this? Vonnegut was truly one of a kind. Poor old Edgar Derby. So it goes.
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It’s been a fun little saga. Those of you who have said r/fantasy is not a great place have not missed the mark.
Updated link. Mods wanted me to change the title. I disagree with their reasoning. Saying you didn’t finish a book isn’t inflammatory. The language I use here was on their insistence.
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@KaylaAncrum
There’s a service charge and an admin fee, I don’t know for the life of me what I’m looking at
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You hate writing a synopsis of your book because you don’t have a good sense of what the story is or how all those scenes and chapters contribute to it.
Write the synopsis as part of your revision process to help focus your intentions, and rewrite accordingly.
I'm curious, what's your constructive artists/creatives version of this? 👀 Hard truths for improvement or about our field of work.
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Here's my
#SPFBO9
openings read-throughs. I’m going in (mostly) blind & I’ll be impatient with the stories because I’m trying to get through a lot (for me) at speed. That isn’t fair to the books. This is my disclaimer. Know I do this with love.
- Your fellow indie author
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@gregsnders
It was such a crazy bold choice of the show to end the series here, but they definitely went out on a high note.
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@jjellisart
I … don’t know what you mean. There were search engines before google. We can use search engines after google 🤷
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@_sa311
@babadookspinoza
@EmiliaOnPoint
I don’t think that’s specifically the case here. But AOC can’t do any good legislatively if she’s ousted from congress, and I genuinely believe that she wants to. At least, I believe that is her calculation.
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Jeez. How cool does my kindle library look?! Hot damn
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@gilestelscanvas
Tolkien lamented that there was not space enough in his narrative to delve into all the various side stories contained within TLoTR. Thats why he hedged with his appendices. But, no, there’s years of material here. Aragorn even called it one of the great adventures of his career.
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@FondaJLee
“Just self-publish” is the “if you don’t like America then get out” of critiquing the industry. No, actually, I want to work with a bunch of talented, passionate people to make my book better and get it in front of readers who’ll love it. I just want that to also be fair.
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I know it’s a few days late, but I’m really thankful for this whole indie fiction community. Everybody’s really positive and supportive, and it’s made this whole thing way more fun for me since I found you lot.
You make this whole life creative thing seem possible. Thanks. 🙏
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I'm preparing for another Opening Reading thread of all 300 books in SPFBOX.
This year you can join my SPFBOX Opening Reads newsletter to get the thread emailed directly to you every week. Or follow along here when you can.
Newsletter sing up link below!
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Okay, I shared my Mistborn DNF notes on Reddit. I’m sharing the link in case anyone here wants to see how bad things get lol.
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I got a Bookbub feature and wrote about what happend (so far) on tumblr! Final results (minus mysterious Kobo Plus profit): ~100 actual cost for the promotion, 660 books in the hands of readers who paid for them.
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The Long Nights is the 2021 Indies Today Awards: Best Book of the Year Runner-Up in
#Horror
"Delightfully strange and intoxicatingly dangerous … a dark world of psychological thrills."
📚📚
Free on
#KindleUnlimited
#WritingCommunity
#amwriting
#books
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@Osiasart
We actually have a lot of good data on child emotional development and it’s always better for kids to have a stable, safe home environment - but that doesn’t mean their bio parents have to live in the same house together. In fact, sometimes it means it’s better if they don’t.
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@BalkanAvis
Yes! Loitering laws were introduced in the post slavery era of the US as an excuse for arresting blacks for the crime of existing. Jailed and fined, if they couldn’t pay, they would be sent to … you guessed it, a prison plantation.
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I haven’t had that much to share about my publishing journey (slow writer, slow learner - so it goes), but I landed a Bookbub Feature, and for right now, for this brief moment, my book is standing there, shoulder to shoulder with giants.
Ain’t it grand?
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@RottenInDenmark
The trick to maintaining a healthy lifestyle is to remember that you are bad and should always keep a broken wasteland of shame between you and the simple pleasures you don’t deserve.
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@marionumber4
Nazism, like the KKK, are violent ideologies. Their marches are calls to violence. Their existence is a danger to us all. No civil society should suffer their speech in any form except historical.
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📚After the success of my spfbo9 opening reads, I've decided to !OFFICIALLY OPEN FOR DEV EDITING!📚
I've tried to set flexible prices that will be affordable to the indie community. Full details on my website below!
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Man, how cool
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In the spirit of the WGA & now SAG strike: there’s no justification for Amazon taking 30% of ebook sales.
It should be 5% at most.
They’re not a publisher, I am.
They’re an algorithm with a Shopify page.
My little word file is nothing to their server.
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A momentous 30 ratings on goodreads. I hope I never stop celebrating these milestones. Thanks for reading,
@Hannya_Kay
!
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@oortbox
@kingdomakrillic
And members of Congress not included in the negotiations for the bill are given only hours to read what’s in the hundreds of pages of legislation before they’re required to vote on it. This is not serious governance.
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SPFBO8 Semi-Finalist
2021 Indies Today Awards: Horror Runner-Up
"This book is as solid as a diamond! And as brilliant, too." - Douglas Lumsden, A Troll Walks Into A Bar
"Atmospheric and deliciously dark." - Peter Hartog, Bloodlines
Book links ⬇️
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Finished Morgan Stang’s delightful gothic mystery & deserving
#SPFBO9
finalist.
Been chatting about it with my reading buddy all morning. It’s full of exciting detail, humor, and mystery! It has its faults, but I’ve bought the sequel!
Highly recommended! Full review soon!
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I never make money on the big Narratess Indie Sale because I always spend everything on the big Narratess Indie Sale.
In a way, it’s a magic trick. We’re conjuring books out of thin air.
Dive in!
Today starts our fifth
#NarratessIndieSale
! 290+ books in the speculative fiction genres are discounted for the next three days. Fill up your ereader for the summer!
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@SWHoloSide
@StarCouncils
Yeah, I agree, I think Rosario is doing a great job. And I would expect the expressiveness of the characters in live action to be more subtle.
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@MadeyeGamgee
I agree. I think the show has done a very good job of keeping true to Tolkien’s themes, though clumsily.
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@HorlockWarlock
Notice, also, that when they touched up the image they accidentally airbrushed out his bellybutton….
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Thanks to everyone who nominated The Long Nights for the Indie Ink Awards! I got one of those neat emails for the first time.
Best morally gray character, & Best setting!
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@yolian_ogbu
@ejknoodles
Compassionate people are doing everything they can in this terrible situation, but effective governance would have prevented the disaster. The aid groups are a bandaid on a bullet wound. PEOPLE work in gov, & they need the power & resources to do more for the community!
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My Bookbub feature and 0.99c deal on THE LONG NIGHTS is going well.
I’m a big deal in Canada - at least for the next hour
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@EuphoriTori
This feels like fascism 101: The victims are the oppressors, the oppressors are the victims.
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That’s a nice birthday present. Milestone 40 ratings. The jump from 30 to 40 happened fast. Thanks to everyone who’s read, rated, and recommended the book. This adventure has meant the world to me.
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OP has muted, so I feel okay quoting this.
I can’t think of anything someone could say about storytelling that could be more wrong. I’ve cut out many unnecessary scenes/character/moments/details from my books. I’m sure I haven’t cut them all. Our works can and do have flaws.
There’s no such thing. If you like a movie every scene is necessary, if you don’t, none of them are. Movies are art not plot delivery machines
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I always try to remember to request my library order copies of the indie books I’ve liked. It’s free for me to do, I can do it online, and, hey, they just might order a few copies. Every little bit helps out the author, and the indie community!
Something to consider.
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I’ve been getting a slow but steady drip of ratings since my Bookbub feature. The Long Nights might actually hit 30 for the first time in the US!
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Hey, this is actually really cool. I’m on a streak. A 5-star rating every month. Thanks gang.
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@MaceAhWindu
It’s difficult to have to remind people that Japan is not the USA, and so digested the racist imagery brought over post WWII with little appreciation for the context.
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Great to see Amazon finally okayed my a+ content. Some familiar quotes!
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Dear writer,
I just wanted to take the time to express my gratitude for your book. I appreciate all the effort and time you put into making these waking dreams for us. Every word makes the world lighter.
Thank you.
(Inspired by a scam message. Little did they know.)
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@jbromovies
I think this might mostly be an “Ahsoka ain’t white” problem. I think Rosario’s performance has been Okay. She looks good in the costume, anyway, and his done great physical work.
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The Long Nights is an SPFBO8 semi-finalist with Before We Go Blog!
"Hard to put down ... Great horror-fantasy."
― PL Stuart
"A great protagonist ... Mock has a deft hand at dialogue."
― Ryan Howse
Now $2.99 & free w/
#KindleUnlimited
(Link below 👇)
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I’m planning to do another opening reading thread of all 300 books in SPFBO again.
In anticipation, I’m trying to finish a revision before it all kicks off. I don’t expect to succeed, but it’s a fun incentive. Not soon enough to enter the blog-off, but soon enough to take part!
In case you didn't know:
#SPFBOX
opens its inbox tomorrow, and tomorrow only! Self-published fantasists, be ready with your files, your love of the craft, and your luck of the draw for the opening day. 🧵
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300+ books for $1.99, $0.99, or Free! Including The Long Nights!
So far I've picked up or already have a pile of great indies from this sale, including, but not limited to:
Tales of Lunis Aquaria
@Endalia
Daughter of the Beast
@GreavesEc
The Thirteenth Hour Trudie Skies (<3)
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@lovemaxultra
@ejknoodles
It’s really just to do with narrative tension and believability. If a protagonist solves every problem put in front of them immediately and with ease, a story can quickly become a predictable slog. Stories are usually most compelling when characters struggle.
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Only 4 more days left until the Halloween release of the hardback for The Long Nights ( + a special sale). Hopefully-hopefully-hopefully Amazon hasn't messed up the cover. If only the author copy would arrive...
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@theserfstv
When millionaire podcaster’s sycophant, conspiracy-theory friends laugh at everything he says…
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I’ve outspent my earnings on the Indie April Sale, but that’s to be expected on just a 35% royalty. I’m not complaining. I would have picked up more if I didn’t have many of the SPFBO books already! Here’s some of it!
Did you read any of these yet?
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I’m excited to announce that I have spent the money I made so far from the Indie April sale … on the Indie April sale 😛
If I make more, I am committed to spending it exactly the same way. My only gain must be in books 📚
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An exciting (if temporary) US development
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If I go home, She Who Must Be Obeyed will lay on me
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I finally finished by backlog of
#SPFBO9
opening reads posts on goodreads. I have a partial review up for all the books I said I wanted to see more of. If I missed yours, let me know! And sorry, if you follow me on GR, if I just destroyed your feed 😅
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For anyone who is interested, my award-winning dark urban fantasy debut is available for a limited time on Netgalley!
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I just saw that because of all my SPFBO9 updates on Goodreads I am now ranked
#87
on the site as a reviewer. This is interesting, but it gives me pause.
Should Goodreads rank reviewers by how many reviews they post, or by how valued those reviews are by other readers?
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@Trungles
I’m on Lindsay’s side on this one. Her tweet critiquing the movie didn’t deserve a mobbing on Twitter. I also thought her description of the knee jerk semi-performative outcries of internet cancellation was apt. And good on her taking the time to own her mistakes.
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@TheFirstOkiro
Loved their reunion in Boba Fett, but I absolutely sympathize with anyone who feels the latest season has all seemed a bit contrived
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@StarWars0nly
Why moonwalk to stab? What tactical purpose? Because surprise fans with movement? Different is cool? Hmm? Hmm?
This is a great example of everything that I at least didn’t enjoy about the sequels. Thoughtless action over compelling story.
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I’ve got too too many Audible credits. Who has/knows some good indie audiobooks? Self-promo welcome
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Just be careful with this one, you hear? It comes with a troll-sized can of whoop-ass
With the 7th book of my Alexander Southerland series coming out soon, is this an appropriate time to remind readers that it all started with A Troll Walks into a Bar? Think Sam Spade-inspired P.I. in a world of trolls, gnomes, witches, and elementals.
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@killerguerilla
“Obey, or I will get aggressive” is not an effective intervention, nor is it a good lesson.
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@TychoBrahe
My version of the joke to add to the pile is:
“But what about when you open twitter”
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Getting to know the indie community on here has been great. Everyone is so supportive and kind. You’re all really positive people. It might not seem like much, talking about books, but when life gets tough, having a nice community to check in on can make all the difference. ❤️📚
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@gilestelscanvas
Anyone in doubt that Sam loved Frodo need only read closely Sam’s reaction to finding Frodo dead on the pass of Cirith Ungol. His world falls apart. He even goes so far as to contemplate suicide so that Frodo won’t have to pass on alone.
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Many things in my spfbo9 opening reads surprised me, but maybe what surprised me most (aside from all the talent out there) was how really wonderful all the authors are.
In spite of my critiques and passes, everyone made this a wonderful experience. Great to know you!
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To all authors who participated in recent indie sales, remember, whatever your sales dashboard may look like, you wont see who added your book on kindle unlimited until they start reading it!
& some devices aren’t connect to the internet & only update when the user logs on!
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It’s been a thrill to see this spate of recent reviews. It’s been really motivating!
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I see the April Narratess sale as a community event at this point. Tess always dedicates all her effort to making it beautiful. I’ve sold more books in this free sale than any paid promotion!
Join in! Also consider donating what you can to Tess’s kofi. She does so much work!
The invitations for the April Narratess Indie Sales have been sent!! I'm so excited to work with everyone again!
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Promotions pay for themselves in all kinds of ways. Thats a lot, James. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
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Submit!
I mean your indie SFF books if you want to be part of Tess’s big indie April sale.
It’s free to take part, but consider her Kofi. It’s a lot of work to put everything together, and this sale always looks beautiful😍
We're getting really close to 300 books entered! You have until Friday to submit your book if you want to be included!
(I'm so glad I limited it to one book per pen name, otherwise I'd have 600 lines of data to go through 😂)
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