The final champion stirs and reaches out to any who can hear her voice. Yet all who heed her call will disappear into the misty fugue.

Awakening their new ally is only the beginning as Luke, Nyx, and their friends head south to the desert city of Bor’daruk. Hunting for another temple once used to seal Baron Kernaghan, they are unaware that the game of destiny has changed. Out for blood and pain, Stephen is determined to make Luke wish he’d never set out to become a hero.

By the time the sun sets on Bor’daruk, minds will be shattered, and the champions’ lives will be changed forever.

Don’t forget to mark it as ‘To Read’ on Goodreads too!

About the Author:

Charles Yallowitz was born and raised on Long Island, NY, but he has spent most of his life wandering his own imagination in a blissful haze. Occasionally, he would return from this world for the necessities such as food, showers, and Saturday morning cartoons. One day he returned from his imagination and decided he would share his stories with the world. After his wife decided that she was tired of hearing the same stories repeatedly, she convinced him that it would make more sense to follow his dream of being a fantasy author. So, locked within the house under orders to shut up and get to work, Charles brings you Legends of Windemere. He looks forward to sharing all of his stories with you, and his wife is happy he finally has someone else to play with.

Blog: Legends of Windemere
Twitter: @cyallowitz
Facebook: Charles Yallowitz
Website: www.charleseyallowitz.com

Read the Previous Volumes of Legends of Windemere!!!

BEGINNING OF A HERO

PRODIGY OF RAINBOW TOWER

ALLURE OF THE GYPSIES

FAMILY OF THE TRI-RUNE

THE COMPASS KEY

CURSE OF THE DARK WIND

Top Ten Things Not to Do When Writing an Amazon Review

January 12, 2015September 20, 2021 ~ John W. Howell ~ 37 Comments

This week’s list was inspired by reading some Amazon reviews recently. As writers, we always think of Amazon reviews in terms of books. There is a whole other world out there so this includes other categories as well as books. I hope you enjoy.

Ten Things Not to do When Writing an Amazon Review

10 When writing an Amazon review, do not think you need to use words no one understands. If you do, at best your review will remain unread and a waste of your time. At worst, you will garner a number of WTF comments and will be notorious for your high-handed use of the language.

9 When writing an Amazon review, do not review a product or book you haven’t tried or read. If you do, at best your review will look like the others you copied and will be ignored. At worse, you might analyze what it is inside of you that compels you to seek to be noticed through such a weak platform as Amazon reviews.

8 When writing an Amazon review, do not think you need to win the word count championship for your review. If you do, at best the length will cause readers to fall asleep. At worst, you will become that reviewer who everyone scrolls through to get to the next pithy statement and will be so noted in the comments section

7 When writing an Amazon review do not think you can attack the quality of the product without cause. If you do, at best those who disagree, will make their thoughts known and those thoughts will follow you everywhere. At worst, you may touch a nerve of a very dedicated fan base who will be committed to eliminating your ability to post other egregious reviews through official and unofficial means. ( you do not want to know the unofficial)

6 When writing an Amazon review, do not think you have to describe every detail of the technical function of the product. If you do, at best you will convince everyone they do not have the skill to operate the product. At worst, you will label yourself as a technical geek who should only be listened to when it comes time to buy a rocket to Mars.

5 When writing an Amazon review, do not include instructions on how to remedy a problem with the product. If you do, at best the reader will avoid the product like the plague. At worst, you will have other purchasers begging you to help them with problems they are having and will assume you are part of the company’s customer service department. Things will get ugly fast if you don’t help them.

4 When writing an Amazon review, do not use the words or expressions: #BOOM, hubris, über, fantastic, amazing, surreal, surprising, or like. If you do, at best you will join the rest of the world in the lack of originality. At worst, you will be using words that do not describe anything and will lose all credibility as someone who should be taken as a serious opinion leader.

3 When writing an Amazon review, do not pick any sex toys as the target of your insights. If you do, at best there is no way to write a review which will mean the same to another user. At worst, you might find yourself into an area where you will have to expose all your weirdness to the buying public and be surprised when a copy of your review is sitting on the counter in the break room.

2 When writing an Amazon review, do not think you must save the world from having a bad experience. If you do, at best your negative review will be the exception and your review credibility will be gone. At worst, you will demonstrate a vindictive personality which will be used as a benchmark on how effective readers believe your reviews are in the future. Your bad experience might be a singular event which will be evident when the judge finds for the plaintiff in your lawsuit.

1 When writing an Amazon review, do not think your review will not be read by anyone so you need not take care in its construction. If you do, at best all the typos and inaccurate statements will make you appear the fool. At worst, this review may show up in social media as one that by its very sloppiness needs to be mocked to the fullest. Thinking you are anonymous won’t help when a copy of the review is circulated in the company e-mail with the headline, “Look What our Crack PR Department Does in its Spare Time.”

Hump Day Story is as Hump Day Story Does

January 15, 2014January 13, 2014 ~ John W. Howell ~ 15 Comments

Wednesday again and time to celebrate the fact the hump will be crossed come close of work and the weekend is in sight. I thought I would tell a story as I normally do on hump day. This one is about an author who is not satisfied with his sales rank on Amazon so he tries to do something about it. I hope you enjoy.

Hacker by John W. Howell

“So you are saying you fixed my sales numbers?”

“Yup went into the system and jigged them a little.”

“Are you sure it won’t be suspicious?”

“Nope I took plenty of precautions and for added measure I boosted some of your author friends as well.”

“Boosted? What do you mean?”

‘You know. Add some sales. Go into the royalty file and make it synch with the sales file. The biggest deal was getting the rank file to come out right.”

“What do you mean come out right?”

“Well you now rank number one on Amazon and that took a lot of cross programming.”

“Number one. Are you crazy?”

“Had to knock that Robert Gates fella down to twenty-five to accommodate.”

“Number one. I said low profile. A little help. Not number one.”

“Shoot, If I was an author I would want to be number one.”

“Oh my god.”

TGIF is as TGIF Does – A HAIKU

January 10, 2014June 26, 2024 ~ John W. Howell ~ 19 Comments

As you know last week brought my book launch and a call for volunteers. I am very happy to report the volunteer docket is filled. I have thirty really nice people who are kind enough to help me out. (I know. . . which way did you come in? *drum bump-de-bump and symbol crash*) I am going to officially close the request, but if you really want to sign-up you can still do it at johnhowell.wave@gmail.com. I want to thank all of you who signed up to help with the launch of My GRL. I think we are going to have some fun. As a reminder the tour starts on Sunday January 19^th and runs until February 1. For all the volunteers, look for the material on the 16^th or it really could be a little before. The e-book go live confirmation will govern the material.

Since it is Friday, I think a Haiku is in order to more or less move us into the weekend. This is a Haiku I composed while waiting for my e-book to go live which seems to be my sole focus these days. The print version has been available since January 2 and the e-version is in some kind of holding pattern. Like a new father waiting in the hall for the birth of a child I pace the floor like a wounded animal checking and re checking the Amazon site for signs of my e-book’s birth. So here it goes:

Launch by John W. Howell

Launch child of paper,

Come on out digital kid…

I need to meet you.

Volunteer is as Volunteer Does – My GRL by John W. Howell – Book Launch

January 3, 2014January 6, 2014 ~ John W. Howell ~ 36 Comments

Volunteers Needed. . . Volunteers Needed. . . Volunteers Needed. . . Volunteers Needed Please e-mail me at johnhowell.wave@gmail.com

I need your help to spread the word that my thriller My GRL is available on Amazon. (Today the print version and e-version will be available Monday January 6). I would like to take the time to make the announcement in an organized fashion. I think an official My GRL Launch Announcement Blog Tour scheduled between January 19 and February 1 will do the trick and I am asking for volunteers. If you participate; the only thing you will need to do is paste the material I send. If you do join; I will publish a link to your blog and your book or what ever you designate on the day of the tour and be so grateful for your help. As I stated, I will send you all the material, and you will only need to simply copy and paste into your site. If you would like to participate please send an e-mail to: johnhowell.wave@gmail.com. If you could also indicate a day when you won’t be able to participate it will help scheduling. Please send your e-mail to me by Monday January 13. I will then publish the schedule and material back to you on January 16. Thank you for your help.

Blurb: John J. Cannon successful San Francisco lawyer takes a well-earned leave of absence from the firm and buys a boat he names My GRL. He is unaware that his newly purchased boat had already been targeted by a terrorist group. John’s first inkling of a problem is when he wakes up in the hospital where he learns he was found unconscious next to the dead body of the attractive young woman who sold him the boat in the first place. John now stands between the terrorists and the success of their mission.

Author Bio: John W. Howell’s main interests are reading and writing. He turned to writing as a full-time occupation after an extensive career in business. John writes thriller fiction novels and short stories. He also has a three times weekly blog Fiction Favorites at http://johnwhowell.com where he writes about . John lives on Mustang Island in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of south Texas with his wife Molly and their spoiled pets. He can be reached by e-mail: johnhowell.wave@gmail.com, Twitter: @HowellWave and on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/john.howell.98229241