Many people have a book they remember fondly for sparking their interest in reading.  Sometimes it’s a classic, and others times it’s some obscure novel nobody has ever heard of before (for me it was The Legend of Human by Richard A. Knaak).  But what about books that inspired us to write?

Let us know what book turned you on to writing and why in the comments.  We want to know the intimate details of all those books that changed your life!

I thought you all would be interested in this:

Over at my personal blog I am running a contest to win a copy of Survival By Storytelling OR a book of equal or lesser value if you already own a copy of SBS. You should head on over here for details. You don’t have to do a whole lot to participate, and it’s all for a free book, which is good, right?

So, go learn how to win a free book!

The holidays have arrived and SBS and Young Writers Online want to do something a little more than just provide an excellent magazine and a community for young writers.  That’s why during the entire month of December we are donating 100% of YWO’s share of the proceeds from sales of Survival By Storytelling AND 100% of all proceeds for merchandise sales at Young Writers Online’s Zazzle Store to World Education.

World Education is a worldwide organization dedicated to improving or solving a wide range of economic, cultural, social, and educational problems, from low literacy rates and inadequate education to health and child labor. Its projects include everything from providing books to children to educating women to combating HIV and AIDS. World Education is doing a lot of work that other organizations are not by hitting many of the underlying issues that create poor literacy in the United States and the rest of world, developed or developing.

So, having said that, we’d like to ask everyone to spread the word about this. If you’re not interested in purchasing Survival By Storytelling, then please get a mug or funny t-shirt from our Zazzle store! Or, if you’re not interested in either, then head on over to World Education and donate on your own. Support this great organization and its efforts.

The charity drive runs until the 2nd of January.  If you have any questions, please leave a comment or send an email to sbsmag[at]yahoo[dot]com.

Thanks!

The editors of Survival By Storytelling have been working diligently to come up with a little musical treat for everyone.  We’re not the only ones.  The contributors for the first issue will have their own list soon, but for now you’ll have to deal with our ridiculous choices of songs for each of the nineteen pieces of fiction or poetry in the first issue.  If anyone is offended by our choices…blame Shaun, because he is the one responsible for any absurd choices here.

Here goes:

If you were stuck in one of your own stories and couldn’t get out, how would you survive? Would you wield a magic sword? Steal a dangerous spaceship? Or would you manipulate your characters into doing your bidding?

For me? Well, I know in one of my stories (“Artemis”) I’d have to learn how to defend myself really quick, because even at 26 I’d be the target for all sorts of twisted teenagers. I’m sure I’d pick up martial arts fairly quick and carry a large, metal object vaguely shaped like a bat with me at all times. And then? I’d beat the heck out of anyone who came near me. I don’t know if I’d succeed (the world of “Artemis” is pretty screwed up), but I’d sure as heck have to try!

Tell us how you would survive a story you’ve written! We want you to take the name of this magazine seriously: survival by storytelling, after all, is not all that far from the truth to begin with.

I’ve got exciting news!  Harry Markov over at Temple Library Reviews has officially reviewed the first issue of SBS!  He seems to have liked it, but he makes some good points that we will be addressing when we do a second issue, particularly in relation to a lack of any sort of “theme.”

In any case, the review is generally a positive one, and this is good news.  It seems like folks are enjoying the magazine.

And there we go!

Finally, SBS is on CreateSpace, which means we’ll be on Amazon soon.  If you happen to want the CreateSpace version more than the Lulu one, you can go here.

They’re essentially the same product, although some legal language is different in the CreateSpace version.  We’re getting closer to having it everywhere!

During the entire month of November you can save 10% off a copy of Survival By Storytelling Magazine at Lulu.  It’s really simple too.  Go here to our Lulu page, click buy, and enter the code GREATBOOK during checkout.  That’s it.  You’ll save 10% off your purchase and get a copy of SBS in the process!  Cool, huh?

Spread the word!

We’re working on creating some images for ads and other promotional materials (including a press release).  For now, however, if you could please spread the word about SBS by mentioning it on your blogs, Facebook, Myspace, or wherever, that would be fantastic.  We may have some contests coming up to win free copies of the mag that will involve such things!

Having said that, we’d like to open the door to reviewers.

If you have a book-related blog and are interested in reviewing the first issue of Survival By Storytelling, please send us an email to sbsmag[at]yahoo[dot]com.  We have a few hard copies coming in the mail, but if you are willing to read a pdf, that would be most preferred.  SBS is non-profit, so our budget is rather small.  (Also, we can’t give review copies to everyone).

Thanks,
Shaun